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Bicolored white-toothed shrew - CROCIDURA LEUCODON
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Shrew": "Shrew" comes from the Middle English word "shrewe," for the animal.
Description: A medium-sized shrew with short tail, a moderately pointed muzzle, small eyes, and small but clearly visible ears, the white-toothed shrew has short dense fur of gray or reddish brown color with silvery reflections above, and whitish beneath. Its tail is dark dorsally and light beneath. Length of head and body is just 2.8 to 3.5 in; weight 0.4 to 1 oz.
Location: Central and southern Europe.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Open fields, forest edge, brushland.
Behavior: One of the common European representatives of a widespread genus of shrews containing about 120 species ranging across the Palearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental Regions, the bicolored white-toothed form is terrestrial and prefers dry situations. Its grass nest is built at the base of bushes or under similar shelter. Like many other shrews, it alternates short periods of rest and activity, each of about 2 to 3 hours, throughout the day and night. It forages in leaf litter for earthworms, insects, and other invertebrates.
Reproduction: Breeding runs from spring through autumn, with two or more litters born each year. Gestation is about 28 days. The young number 3 to 7 per litter and mature in two to three months. The mother leads her growing offspring to safety by "caravanning." (In line behind the mother, each shrew grips the one ahead with its teeth holding the fur just above the tail, the young one in front gripping its mother's fur.)
Go to the Insectivores Page to get a general discussion of these animals.
Go to the Shrew Index to study other types of shrews.
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