This shrew is known from Mount Meru, Tanzania, with records spanning submontane forest to the ericaceous zone above the tree line. Its back is dark brown, with bristles on the basal part of the tail.
The back is dark brown and the underside slightly grayer brown. Bristles cover about the proximal two-thirds of the tail.
Crocidura newmarki shares sites on the eastern mountain slopes of Mount Meru with Crocidura allex and Crocidura hildegardeae. Several kinds of shrew therefore inhabit the same mountain. The inner sole of its hind foot bears numerous small tubercles.
The Meru animals were previously assigned to Crocidura montis from the distant Rwenzori Mountains. A 2015 study revisited skull morphology and DNA using specimens from Tanzanian mountains. Field surveys used lines of buckets buried as pitfall traps.
Most measured parts of the Meru skulls were smaller than those of the Rwenzori specimens. DNA analyses also supported recognizing the Meru population as a distinct species. Detailed comparisons of animals from separate mountains revealed differences hidden beneath a similar appearance.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The name-bearing specimen came from Mount Meru inside Arusha National Park. The Tanzania Forest Services Agency illustrates smoke rising from Mount Meru in satellite imagery dated 20 September 2015 and identifies wildfire as a forest-protection challenge. The park protects mountain forest and high-elevation habitats. Fire preparedness and continued surveys of habitat condition are relevant conservation priorities.