Shrew Facts



 
 
 
American short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda)
Length: 10-13 cm(body)  2.5 cm(tail)
Weight: 28 grams
Located: Southeastern Canada and northeastern 
              United States to Texas, Louisiana, and the 
              southern tip of Florida.
(Encyclopedia of Animals, 1999)

 
 
Elephant Shrew (Elephantulus)
Length: 11-29 cm(body)  11-25 cm(tail)
Weight: 42-300 grams
Located: North Africa's Morocco and 
              Tripolitania
(Encyclopedia of Animals, 1999)

 
 
Eurasian Water Shrew (Neomys fodiens)
Length: 13 cm(body and tail)
Weight: 28 grams
Located: Throughout most of Europe and Asia at all 
              altitudes
(Encyclopedia of Animals, 1999)
                   Photo by Kim Jinsuk
 
 
Desert Shrew (Notiosorex crawfordi)
Length: 8.1 cm(body)   2.7 cm(tail)
Weight: 4 grams
Located: North central and southern Texas
(Encyclopedia of Animals, 1999)
                                                                                                                     Photo by John L. Tveten
In General:
 
 

Shrews are generally mouse like in appearance.  They tend to have a long, pointed nose and soft, gray-brown fur.  The shrew family contains a species that is the world's smallest mammal.  It measures about 2.5-5 cm and weighs less than 2 grams.  Most species of shrews are terrestrial but there are some species that are semi aquatic or arboreal.  The family of shrews has been successful in invading almost every environment except for the polar regions.  Their habitats range from forests to grasslands to deserts.  Although shrews are active both day and night, they are mainly nocturnal organisms.  Shrews forage often in search of food to fuel their incredibly high metabolic rates.  The diet of shrews, in general, consists of insects, worms, small fish, and frogs.  Though they have been known to kill prey many times their own size such as mice and other shrews.  The shrews will also eat carrion and plant material when other resources are scarce.  Shrews combine poison-tipped teeth and sometimes echolocation with a fierce foraging lifestyle that allow live with a small body size (Funk & Wagnalls, 1999).    

 
 
 
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