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Savi's pygmy shrew, Etruscan shrew - SUNCUS ETRUSCUS
Possibly Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Shrew": "Shrew" comes from the Middle English word "shrewe," for the animal.
Description: A minute, pointed-nosed insectivore with moderately long tail, thick at its base, the pygmy shrew has prominent ears and small eyes. The fur is soft, short, and drab brownish gray in color, very slightly lighter beneath. Head and body length 1.4 to 2 inches, and add an inch for the tail. Its weight is a tiny 0.05 to 0.09 oz.
Location: Southern Europe through southern Asia.
Habitat: Deciduous, coniferous, and riverine forests, and dense brush.
Behavior: The Etruscan shrew is one of the smallest living mammals (only a minute bat from Thailand is smaller). Some adult specimens of Hoy's pygmy shrew of Canada and the northern United States, are almost as tiny. Shrews of this genus, Suncus, are sometimes called "musk shrews," because of their strong unpleasant odor which is derived from a gland under the skin of the flanks. Savi's pygmy shrew nests in rock crevices and under tree roots. Foraging at night and probably during the day as well, its diet consists of insects, spiders, and other invertebrates of which it daily consumes 2 to 4 times its own body weight.
Reproduction: Its breeding habits are unknown.
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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