The Desert Musk Shrew is recorded in Ethiopia and Senegal. The Mammal Diversity Database also lists Somalia as a possibility, marked with a question mark to show uncertainty.
The 1895 type description says the face and back were pale slate gray, the lips, chest, belly, and limbs were white, and the ears were short and nearly hairless. The tail was about half the head-and-body length.
The IUCN assessment lists dry savanna as habitat but says information about habitat and population size is limited.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.