Etruscan shrew

Etruscan shrew[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Eulipotyphla
Family: Soricidae
Genus: Suncus
Species:
S. etruscus
Binomial name
Suncus etruscus
(Savi, 1822)
Etruscan Shrew range
(blue — native, black — probably extant origin uncertain)

The Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus), also known as the Etruscan pygmy shrew, white-toothed pygmy shrew and Savi's pygmy shrew, is the smallest known extant mammal by mass, weighing only about 1.8 g (0.063 oz) on average.[3][4][5][6][7][8] (The bumblebee bat is regarded as the smallest mammal by skull size and body length.[3][9])

The Etruscan shrew has a body length of about 4 cm (1.6 in) excluding the tail. It is characterized by very rapid movements and a fast metabolism, eating about 1.5–2 times its own body weight per day. It feeds on various small vertebrates and invertebrates, mostly insects, and can hunt individuals of the same size as itself. These shrews prefer warm and damp climates and are widely distributed in the belt between 10° and 45°N latitude stretching from Europe and North Africa to Malaysia. They are also found in the Maltese islands, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.[2][5] Although widespread and not threatened overall, they are generally uncommon and are endangered in some countries.

  1. ^ Hutterer, R. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. direct link
  2. ^ a b Aulagnier, S.; Hutterer, R.; Jenkins, P.; Bukhnikashvili, A.; Kryštufek, B.; Kock, D. (2017). "Suncus etruscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T90389138A22288134. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T90389138A22288134.en. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b Jürgens, Klaus D. (2002). "Etruscan shrew muscle: the consequences of being small". The Journal of Experimental Biology. 205 (Pt 15): 2161–2166. Bibcode:2002JExpB.205.2161J. doi:10.1242/jeb.205.15.2161. PMID 12110649.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference j1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference r1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Белозубка карликовая (Suncus etruscus)". ours-nature.ru (in Russian).
  7. ^ Brecht, Michael; Roth-Alpermann, Claudia (2009). "Vibrissal touch in the Etruscan shrew". Scholarpedia. 4 (11): 6830. Bibcode:2009SchpJ...4.6830R. doi:10.4249/scholarpedia.6830.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Macdonald was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference j3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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