Eurasian pygmy shrew

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Eurasian pygmy shrew[1]
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Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Eulipotyphla
Family:
Soricidae
Genus:
Sorex
Species:
S. minutus
Binomial name
Sorex minutus
Linnaeus, 1766
File:Eurasian Pygmy Shrew area.png
Eurasian pygmy shrew range

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The Eurasian pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus), often known simply as the pygmy shrew, is a widespread shrew of northern Eurasia. It is the only shrew native to Ireland.[3]

Active throughout the day and night, the Eurasian pygmy shrew lives in undergrowth and leaf litter and lives off small insects and invertebrates.[4] It has an average weight of 4 grams[3] and has one of the highest metabolic rates of any animal, meaning it must eat at regular intervals — every two hours or so.[5][6]

The breeding season lasts from April through to August. Females usually produce between two and eight young per litter and care for the young in an underground nest. Since the gestation period is just over three weeks, they can have up to five litters in one year, though the life span of a pygmy shrew is a little over 15 months.[4]

In April 2008, the greater white-toothed shrew was discovered in Ireland.[7] While the introduction of the species will possibly sustain threatened birds of prey, such as the barn owl, the nonnative mammal could threaten some of the smaller native species, such as the Eurasian pygmy shrew.[7]

Common and Eurasian pygmy shrews (genus Sorex), size comparison

References

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External links

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Insectivore Specialist Group (1996). Sorex minutus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 2006-5-12.Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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