Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
Like all shrews, the Asian house shrew is plantigrade and long-nosed. The teeth are a series of sharp points to poke holes in insect exoskeletons . It is the largest of the shrew species, weighing between 50 and 100 g and being about 15 cm long from snout to tip of the tail.
Common & Eurasian pygmy shrews (genus Sorex), size comparison. The common shrew is not an endangered species, but in Great Britain it, like other shrews, is protected from certain methods of killing by the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981. [16] In Britain, shrews can be found at densities of up to one per 200 m 2 (240 yd²) in
The northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, [3] and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. [4] It is a semifossorial, highly active, and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats like broadleaved and pine forests among shrubs and hedges as well as grassy river banks. [5]
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]
This animal is active day and night year-round. Masked shrews can be nocturnal or diurnal depending on the weather. Doucet and colleagues (1974) showed that rain increases the nocturnal activity of the masked shrew, while cloud cover increases day and night activity. [9] It digs tunnels but also uses tunnels created by other small mammals.
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 ]
The short-tailed shrew has a high metabolism and eats about half its body weight in a day. It navigates and locates prey by echolocation. [7] The southern short-tailed shrew is a social animal; it has been known to share its burrow systems with several individuals. The male and female live together during the prebreeding season. The burrows are ...