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Common shrew foraging (UK) The common shrew's carnivorous and insectivorous diet consists of insects, slugs, spiders, worms, amphibians and small rodents. Shrews need to consume 200% to 300% of their body weight in food each day in order to survive; to achieve this they must eat every 2 to 3 hours, and they will starve if they go without food ...
The shrew usually has 30 teeth, but the 4th upper intermediate tooth is very small (rudimentary), and is absent in some individuals. [6] Near the mouth grow a dense array of short whiskers, which the shrew actively uses to search for prey, especially in the night. [7] Dimorphism in body features between males and females is absent. [10]
All shrews are tiny, most no larger than a mouse. The largest species is the Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) of tropical Asia, which is about 15 cm (6 in) long and weighs around 100 g (3 + 1 ⁄ 2 oz) [2] The Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus), at about 3.5 cm (1 + 3 ⁄ 8 in) and 1.8 grams (28 grains), is the smallest known living terrestrial mammal.
The genus Sorex includes many of the common shrews of Eurasia and North America, and contains at least 142 known species and subspecies.Members of this genus, known as long-tailed shrews, are the only members of the tribe Soricini of the subfamily Soricinae (red-toothed shrews).
They range in size from the Etruscan shrew, one of the smallest mammal species at 3 cm (1 in) plus a 2 cm (1 in) tail, [1] to the hero shrew and Thor's hero shrew, at 15 cm (6 in) plus a 10 cm (4 in) tail. Crocidurines primarily eat invertebrates, small mammals, frogs, toads, and lizards.
The shrew has to eat almost constantly, because they can only survive a few hours without food. [7] Their metabolism drops when they are at rest. McCay and colleagues (1997) found a higher abundance of masked shrews in non-irrigated forests due to a higher availability of larval insects, which is the preferred food source of the masked shrew.
The forest shrew (Myosorex varius) is a species of shrew in the mouse shrew family, Soricidae. [2] It is found in Lesotho , South Africa , and Eswatini . [ 1 ] Its natural habitats include temperate forests, dry savanna , Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, and temperate grassland . [ 1 ]
The American pygmy shrew is the smallest mammal native to North America and is one of the smallest mammals in the world, just slightly larger than the Etruscan shrew of Eurasia. Its body is about 5 cm (2 in) long including a 2-cm-long tail, and it weighs about 2.0 to 4.5 g (0.07 to 0.16 oz). [ 9 ]