All hairs are gray at the base.
The fur is soft and fine, and the vibrissae are long and numerous, resembling the whiskers of desert rodents more than the vibrissae of other shrews. These elastic hairs, by increasing the surface area of the paws, give the animal support on loose sand. The ears are rather large. There are only two unicuspid teeth on each side. This shrew inhabits dry steppe and subdesert.