Giant shrew description. Tiny shrew: habitat and interesting facts. In the photo there is a small shrew
Shrews are mammals belonging to the shrew family., including more than seventy species, of which in the territory Russian Federation is around seventeen. They have an elongated muzzle. The outside of the tail consists of hairs of equal length. The ears are small, the back is black-brown or black, the belly is light, brown-gray, some species are the same color. Three pairs of nipples, 32 teeth, brown or red-brown crowns. Body size is from 5 to 9 centimeters, tail length, from base to end without terminal hair, 2.8-8 cm, body weight from 2 to 35 grams.
Shrew:
Types of shrews: a brief description of what they eat and where they live
There are many various types shrews, but the most common are those presented below.
Ordinary
The presented species of mammals has the following characteristic features:
- Loves the temperate climate of deciduous, mixed forests, where high humidity prevails;
- It feeds on plant debris, larvae, spiders, worms, and, if necessary, feeds on small carrion;
REFERENCE: The first and second intermediate teeth are larger than the third and fourth, the fifth is the smallest, not brown.
- It breeds at any time of the year, bearing up to ten cubs at a time;
- Lives up to two years;
- Body size is from 6 to 9 centimeters, tail length is from 3.5 to 5 centimeters, weight is from 6 to 15 grams.
Little shrew (American)
It is the smallest of the shrews. Found in the area North America, in deciduous and coniferous forests.
Body size is from 3 to 5 centimeters, tail is 2-2.5 centimeters, weight is from 2 to 3 grams.
It has the following characteristic features:
- In winter, the fur becomes lighter, which allows shrews to hide from predators;
- Feeds on worms, larvae, small spiders.
- It reproduces only once, bearing from 3 to 8 cubs.
Tiny
It can be found in the Scandinavian countries and in the vast expanses of the Russian Federation: in the tundra, semi-deserts, steppes, steppes, and also on the edges of swamps.
REFERENCE: The first, second, third intermediate teeth are equal.
Body size is from 2 to 5 centimeters, tail from 1 to 3 centimeters, body weight from 3 to 4 grams. The color is dark brown or light brown. It feeds eight times a day on larvae and small spiders.
At one time she bears from 4 to 16 cubs. Listed in the Red Book.
Small
Habitat extends from the European part of Eurasia to Southern Siberia, loves forests with high humidity, grass cover. In Europe, this species of shrew can be found in the forest-steppe.
Has the following characteristic features: 
- Body size from 6 to 7.5 centimeters;
- Tail from 2 to 3 centimeters;
- Weight up to 5 grams;
- IN winter period darkening of the coat is observed;
- Loves humidity, eats worms, spiders, and in rare cases plant seeds.
- Reproduction occurs only in summer, producing from 4 to 13 cubs at a time.
The second intermediate tooth is lower than the first and third. Smaller teeth compared to other shrews.
Average
Can be found in areas of the Far East, Korea, areas from eastern Europe to Mongolia. Coniferous, mixed forests.
The body length is 5.8-7.7 cm, the tail length is from 3.6 to 4.2 cm, the body weight is 4-8.6 g. There is no “scoop”. Has short claws and a thin tail. It breeds in late spring, summer, and early autumn, bearing 1-12 cubs at a time. Eats larvae, spiders, beetles, earthworms.
REFERENCE: The third and fourth intermediate teeth are equal, smaller than the first and second, the fifth is much smaller than all.
Gigantic
In Latin, Sorex Mirabilis, which translates to amazing shrew. Body length more than 7.5 cm, longitudinal length of the skull more than 2.2 cm, weight 14 grams, the posterior apex of the upper anterior incisor is poorly developed.
The color is dark: the back is brownish-brown, the belly is light.
Favorite places: North Korean Peninsula, Far East, China.
Shrew (shrew):
It reproduces once a year, the population has been reduced, the species is listed in the Red Book.
Of the intermediate teeth, the first is the highest, the third is lower than the fourth, and the fifth is rudimentary.
Equal-toothed
Habitat from central Europe to Northern Belarus.
Has the following characteristics:
- Body size from 6 to 9 centimeters;
REFERENCE: The teeth uniformly decrease in height of the single-vertex teeth from the first to the fifth. The fifth tooth has pigmentation.
- Tail length from three and a half to five centimeters;
- Body weight 6.5-20 grams;
- Listed in the Red Book.
- It feeds on insects and during winter switches to seeds of spruce and deciduous trees.
- Life expectancy is one and a half years.
- In the taiga of the mountains of Southern Siberia, the most numerous species of shrews.
Shrew:
Flat-skull (brown)
Characterized by the following features:
- Body length 7.5-9.2 centimeters;
- Tail length 3.7-4.3 centimeters;
- Body weight – 8-14.5 grams;
- The tail is well bushed, there is no “scoop” on the back;
- Light belly, dark brown back, short claws, larger size;
- Likes: taiga forest, forest-tundra from the Urals to Sakhalin;
- It feeds on earthworms, insects, mainly beetles.
ATTENTION: In winter, shrews hibernate. It is potentially impossible to see them on a blanket of snow. Due to their overly bright fur, animals leave areas under the snow only in situations of extreme necessity or when they are really hungry.
Reproduction occurs in the summer and brings two or three litters, each with from seven to fourteen individuals.
Shrews are a unique animal, albeit very small. And this is also confirmed by the fact that the shrew maintains the highest body temperature compared to mammals on Earth - from 40C.
Common shrew:
Shrew is a small animal (from several centimeters, in rare cases up to 1 decimeter), belonging to the shrew family, weighing only ten grams.
As seen in photo, shrew outwardly it resembles a field one, differing from it only in an elongated muzzle, similar to a proboscis, and a tail, sometimes larger than the body itself, with short hairs.
In addition, the animal has small beady eyes, white teeth, large hind legs, velvety fur and a dark brown, in some cases almost black, color. The top is darker and the bottom is lighter. The animals are extremely common in Northern Europe and belong to the largest genus of mammals.
They like to settle in bushes and thickets of grass, and live, as a rule, in the undergrowth. In some cases, like, they can settle in people's houses.
Common shrew especially taken root in areas with temperate climates. The animal can often be observed in the shade of mixed and deciduous forests, where it prefers damp areas covered with plant debris.
Arctic shrew is a resident of Siberia and the tundra, also found in the far north of the American continent. The animals shed a couple of times a year (just at the junctions of the cold and warm cycles of the northern climate), changing their fur from bright and dense in the winter months to thinner wool of discreet tones in favorable seasons. The color of the fur itself is interesting and has three shades of brown, varying from light to grayish and completely dark.
Giant shrew, having a body length of 10 cm, is found in the north of the Korean Peninsula, the Far East and China. The population of this animal is sharply declining, and in view of this state of affairs, measures are being taken to protect it.
Pictured is a giant shrew
Little shrew much smaller and reaches a length of no more than 6 cm, and often much smaller. Found in the Caucasus, Kyrgyzstan and Siberia. Usually has a coffee-red color. The smallest (about 4 cm) is tiny shrew, which is not for nothing considered the smallest representative of mammals in the world.
In the photo there is a small shrew
Character and lifestyle of the shrew
Unlike rodents mice, shrew refers to insectivorous mammals. In addition, she does not dig minks, but lives in the forest floor: the surface of the earth covered with fallen leaves and withered grass from last year.
In winter, the animal does not hibernate, so it can be found in an active state at all times of the year. The shrew is cautious, and its main life takes place at night. But it can carry out its activities at any other time of the day, especially becoming more active a few hours before sunset.
It is capable of making winding passages in soft soil, under snow and in loose forest floors, doing this with the help of its proboscis and paws. Sometimes for his advancement he uses the moves of rodents: voles, .
Small shrew has poor vision. And the main organs that help her survive in this world are touch and smell. In addition, at night she is helped to navigate by such a special and unique device given to her by nature as echolocation.
This addition to other sensory organs, which distinguishes it from many other living beings, helps it not to get confused in the dark among the stems of grass and plant roots.
In search of what it is striving for, the shrew emits sound pulses. And the animal’s ears, which have a unique structure, receive in response the necessary signals, giving it the necessary information about the features of the surrounding world.
Nutrition
The animal, despite its modest size, is extremely voracious, consuming twice its weight in food per day.
And she finds food by actively rummaging in upper layers soil, which has the misfortune to greatly annoy avid gardeners and gardeners. But it’s better not to rush to get angry at neighbors like shrews, because animals can help get rid of many pests: caterpillars, leaf beetles, click beetles, slugs.
Moreover, a shrew rarely catches the eye of a person, because it operates mainly at night, actively swarming in the garbage. The animal feeds on terrestrial invertebrates: snails, centipedes, spiders and earthworms.
In the forest floor, teeming with small animals where it lives, it is not difficult for it to obtain food during favorable periods. The shrew is also quite capable of eating bird droppings, carrion and plant seeds, which usually make up its winter diet.
When eating, the animal usually rests on all four paws, but in some cases, for example, when eating slippery worms or beetles, it can use its front paws to hold its prey.
Often in search of something edible, the shrew climbs trees, climbing the trunk, clinging to uneven bark with its paws in order to feast on the eggs of a nun butterfly or gypsy moth.
To get food, the shrew is capable of attacking even such large animals, in comparison with its size, as small rodents and frogs. And if he wins, he eats them almost entirely, leaving only the skins and bones of his victims.
Many frogs become prey for shrews during hibernation, and when the snow melts, only their thoroughly gnawed skeletons can be found on the forest floor.
Reproduction and lifespan
The breeding season for animals begins in early spring, usually in March, and ends in late autumn.
During this period, the mother shrew is capable of giving birth to several litters (from two to four), each of which adds 3-9 cubs to the number of this species of insectivore.
The animal's pregnancy lasts about three to four weeks. And by the end of the gestation period, shrews build a nest among the roots of trees or stones. They build a home for their future children from leaves and moss, covering it with something soft for convenience.
Small shrews develop quickly, although they are born completely blind and with an unprotected, naked body. Over the next three weeks, from the moment they are born, they feed mother's milk.
After two weeks, the cubs' pupils open and they begin to become covered with fur. And after 3-4 months they are already able to bear offspring. The animals live for about 18-23 months, but during this time they are able to multiply greatly.
Family Shrews (Soricidae).
The most common, widespread species of shrews in the fauna of Belarus. It is found throughout the republic. Belongs to the subspecies S. a. araneus.
The largest representative of shrews. Length: body 5.8-8.7 cm, tail 3.2-5.6 cm, feet 1-1.5 cm, ear 0.6-0.8 cm. Body weight of young animals 4.5-9. 6 g; adults 6.0-16.5 g. The body is cylindrical, the cervical region is poorly defined, the head is oblong, cone-shaped, ending in a small, relatively blunt and mobile proboscis. The eyes are small, the ears are small and weakly protrude from the fur. The limbs are small, five-fingered, the claws are sharp.
There are 32 teeth. The tops of the teeth are colored brown or reddish (brown).
Thickly covered short hair. The fur is short and velvety. The color of the common shrew is subject to significant individuality, seasonal and age-related variability.In summer, it is dark brown on the back and sides, lighter below with a slight reddish tinge. Winter fur is somewhat longer and thicker than summer fur; on the back and sides it is darker than in summer; on the underside of the body it is light gray with a silvery coating, often with an ocher or brownish tint. Rarely there are individuals with patches of white hairirregular round shape with a diameter of 1-4 mm in dark-colored areas.The ears are well furred and barely protrude above the soft, velvety coat. The limbs and tail are covered with coarser hair.The tail is two-colored with a blurred border - dark brown above, brownish-gray below; V cross section rounded, well pubescent, thick hair hides skin scales.
On the sides of the body or the base of the tail there are peculiar glands, the secretions of which emit a musky odor.
The shrew molts twice a year - in spring and autumn: in April - early May and in September-November. The first molt of young shrews that leave the nests occurs only in the fall (September-October). There is no normal autumn molt in overwintered shrews. New short summer hair grows only on some parts of the body (the so-called senile - “intermediate” or “residual” summer-autumn molt). This molting lasts from June to October, and in some individuals it can occur immediately after the end of the spring molting, and in others - after a long break.
Eurytopic species. The most favorable habitats are forests with loose and thick dead litter, developed undergrowth or tall grass. Shrew habitats are confined to forests various types(usually mixed), mainly in shaded areas littered with windbreaks, where it finds shelter and food in the forest floor. It can be found in the coastal thickets of rivers and ditches. Found in gardens, parks, and vegetable gardens. In late autumn and winter, shrews are found near human habitation, and sometimes even penetrate into houses. Avoids open places. It changes stations throughout the year, depending on meteorological conditions and the state of the food supply.
In general, shrews prefer a gloomy, shaded environment, avoid dryness, heat, light, and are so sensitive to the latter that they die if exposed to direct rays of the sun for a long time. Spends the day in the nest, and at dusk goes out in search of food. In winter, snow is a salvation for the shrew - it protects against frost. But if she jumps up and doesn’t immediately return, she is doomed to quickly freeze. The movements of these shrews are extremely fast and agile.
The common shrew runs deftly, jumps quite high, can climb sloping tree trunks, and swims well. Caught and released again, she often returns to the trap, guided by her own scent. Among the sense organs, the first place, undoubtedly, is the sense of smell; hearing is also well developed. Even at the slightest noise, the shrew hides in its shelter, since this is the only way to escape from larger enemies, against which it is almost completely defenseless. The shrew loses vigilance only if it is busy eating. Caught by predators, it is not always eaten by them (a cat, for example, cannot stand its musky smell).
In search of food, turning its proboscis in all directions, it eats everything it finds. The basis of the diet consists of a variety of insects and their larvae, spiders, earthworms, mollusks, and other invertebrates, obtained from tunnels made independently or by others (voles, moles) in the forest litter or upper layers of soil. It feeds on insects at different stages of their development. We can say that of all the representatives of the insectivorous order, shrews, including the common shrew, are the most insectivorous. Eats baby mice and voles, small amphibians. Used in small quantities vegetable feed - seeds of spruce, pine, linden, as well as vegetative parts of plants, mainly winter time(up to 40-60%). They eat high-calorie animal food in large quantities. total weight food eaten per day is equal to 140-200% of body weight (according to other sources, up to 200-400%). A small shrew can easily eat a whole dead mouse or a bird no smaller than it. Since food is digested quickly and the need for it is quite high, shrews feed many times a day and sleep in between meals. Their astronomical days are divided into several “their” biological days, which registered from 9 to 15 and during which the animal moves fromshelter to shelter, while walking 1.1-2.5 km. Transitions are accompanied by searching for food, obtaining it and eating it. The total duration of activity is up to 66.5% of the time of day.
Constant activity of the common shrew - necessary condition its existence. High activity and increased tone of life processes lead to rapid aging of the body.
This explains the short period of life. In autumn activity decreases and in winter it is minimal. In summer, adults have almost uniform activity throughout the day.
Sexually mature males are more mobile.
The nest is most often hemispherical in shape, made of moss, grass, leaves, plant stems; the shrew most readily builds under hummocks in the voids among the roots, under heaps of dead wood or in someone else's abandoned hole.
Shrews do not live together. Males and females, except for the mating period, do not get along in peace. If two animals meet together, they make thin chirping or squealing and whistling sounds and begin to fight fiercely, while squeaking pitifully, and when in danger, they spread a strong smell of musk emanating from the glands located on the sides of the body. Normally they do not become sexually mature in the year of birth, although the maturation of fingerlings is known only in the first spring brood, which are in
At the age of 3-4 months they begin to reproduce. The breeding season lasts from April to September-October. The female builds a nest in rotten stumps, trunks, under piles of brushwood, hummocks of leaves, grass, moss, wood trash. Chamber diameter 8-10 cm. Per season
there may be 3-4 litters. Pregnancy lasts about 20 days. . The number of cubs in a litter ranges from 3-11 (usually 6-8), which are born naked, with an undeveloped proboscis, snub-nosed, blind and helpless. Newborn weight 0.475 g, body length 1.6-2.0 cmIn the second week, the shrews become covered with hair, and in the third, they probably begin to see. The female feeds only milk until 22 days of age, after which the cubs eat on their own and by this time the length of the body and tail reaches and stabilizes. At the age of 22-25 days, the cubs leave the nest and become independent. On the 25th day after birth, the female is again ready to reproduce.
In autumn, young animals' body sizes decrease; the skull becomes flatter in winter due to the flattening of the braincase. From April to June, the volume of the brain capsule of the skull increases, and the mass and volume of the brain increases. This amazing phenomenon was first discovered by the Polish zoologist A. Danel and became known as the “Danel phenomenon.”
The common shrew has few enemies. Only some birds of prey, as well as storks and vipers, eat them. At the same time, it is an object and reserve of food for birds of prey and animals during the years of rodent depression. Mammals with a keen sense of smell are disgusted by shrews because of the smell, which is very strong and is transmitted to all objects they touch. Cats bite them, perhaps mistaking them for mice, but they never eat them.
Shrew passages that penetrate the forest floor and moss cover contribute to the decomposition of organic matter, aeration and soil moisture. In addition, pine and spruce seeds, once in their surface passages, germinate more successfully than in thick moss cover.
Life expectancy is no more than 1.5-2 years.
VERTEBRATES - VERTEBRATA
Squad: Insectivores - Insectivora
Family: Shrews - Soricidae
Genus: Sorex
Spreading: Described from the river valley. Kamenki, Primorsky Krai. Lives in the south. parts of the Primorsky Territory, where the northern part passes. boundary of the species' local range. Extreme northern The catching point is the river valley. Serebryanka (Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve, Terney Bay, 45° N).
Habitat: The preferred biotopes are primary broad-leaved and coniferous-deciduous forests of valleys with adjacent lower parts of the slopes of hills and secondary coniferous-deciduous forests of river valleys, unaffected by logging and fires. In addition, the giant shrew was caught in the secondary mixed broad-leaved forest of the river valley. Proselochnaya (Lazovsky district) and in secondary, largely restored, mixed broad-leaved forests of the river valley. Kedrovaya (Khasansky district). During the summer season, females bear only one litter (the number of young in the litter has not been established). The number of embryos is very small (2-4) and their resorption is often noted. The sex ratio is unknown (no adult males have been captured so far). The main food is earthworms, constituting up to 95% of the daily diet. In search of food, unlike all other shrews, it is capable of burrowing even into compacted soil.
Number: The relative abundance is extremely low and does not fluctuate from year to year. A total of 42 individuals of this species were captured, of which 19 were in the Ussuri Nature Reserve and 16 in the Kedrovaya Pad Nature Reserve. In 1966-1968. in the most optimal biotopes of primary broad-leaved forests, the share of this species was 0.8% of all captured shrews. According to archaeological data, over the past 3 thousand years the number of giant shrews has decreased; Among the bone remains of insectivores in a number of caves in the region, fragments of skulls of this species were evenly distributed throughout the depth of the examined pit and accounted for 3% of all shrews found. The reduction in numbers has occurred literally over the last 200 years, and especially with the beginning of the economic development of the region and the clearing of broad-leaved forests. The main factor influencing the decline in the number and area of distribution of the species is the reduction in the areas of primary broad-leaved and cedar-broad-leaved forests in the region, mainly due to their large-scale deforestation and other anthropogenic reasons.
Security: Protected in the territories of the Sikhote-Alin, Lazovsky, Ussuriysky, and Kedrovaya Pad nature reserves. No special protection measures have been proposed; their development requires a more detailed study of the biology of the species.
Sources: 1. Terrestrial mammals..., 1984; 2. Okhotina, 1969; 3. Tiunov, 1976.
The common shrew is a small mammal of the shrew family.
This animal is also known as the common shrew, or forest shrew.
Appearance
Body length 5 - 8 cm, tail length 6.5 cm, weight 4 - 16 grams. Like other shrews, the shrew's muzzle is very elongated and resembles a proboscis.
Otherwise according to appearance The shrew resembles mice, although it is not related to them. The fur of this animal is short, black or dark brown, with a rusty tint on the sides. It got its name because of its brown teeth, which sometimes even have a reddish tint.
Shrews have ears, but they are so small that they are almost indistinguishable in the thick coat of hair. A special feature of the shrew's structure is its brain. It makes up one tenth of body weight. This is very most of– greater than the brain-to-body ratio of humans and dolphins.
common shrew photo
True, the shrew cannot be called particularly brilliant, but it is a fairly smart animal, like most predators.
Habitat
Most shrews are found in Northern and Western Europe, including the northern and northwestern regions of Russia. These animals settle in the most different places, but prefer shade and moist soil. They live in parks, forests, and sometimes in swamps; The shrew usually avoids open places.
Like mice, shrews are often found in residential buildings in rural areas, where they especially often run in autumn and winter. At the same time, they tolerate quite harsh conditions and are able to survive the winter without falling into a long hibernation.
common shrew on a hummock photo
It is curious that in particularly severe winters, shrews live in abundant snowdrifts, while in the open they can die.
Nutrition
As already mentioned, shrews look like small rodents. However, their type of nutrition is completely different. They are ferocious predators and feed not only on small animals - worms, insects and their larvae, but also attack much larger animals - mice and other rodents, frogs.
Shrews spend almost their entire lives searching for food, which is explained by their extremely high metabolism; their body temperature is much higher than most other mammals, at 40 degrees. In winter, shrews search for hibernating insects under the snow.
delicacy shrew photo
In houses, they climb into basements and cellars, but do not eat food stored in them - there they hunt insects. In small quantities, shrews eat seeds of spruce and pine trees, linden nuts and other plant foods; This most often occurs in winter, when animal food is scarce.
Reproduction
Shrews begin to breed in March and continue throughout the warm period. Over the course of a year, they can give birth to several litters, each of which contains 7–8 cubs. The “mice” are helpless, naked and blind, but they grow very quickly and at the age of one month they begin to hunt. At the same time, shrews build nests from stems and roots, and the floor is lined with moss. Nests are located in the soil, old stumps or abandoned mouse holes.
