Shrew 155176 226054421 2008-07-16T16:58:06Z Anaxial 2273576 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] implausible and uncited claim by [[Special:Contributions/148.166.13.194|148.166.13.194]] ([[User talk:148.166.13.194|talk]]) {{redirect|Shrews|the fictional characters in ''The Animals of Farthing Wood''|The Shrews}} {{Taxobox | name = Shrews<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Hutterer | pages = 223-300}}</ref> | fossil_range = Middle [[Eocene]] to Recent | image = southern short-tailed shrew.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = [[Southern Short-tailed Shrew]] | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | ordo = [[Soricomorpha]] | familia = '''Soricidae''' | familia_authority = [[Johann Fischer von Waldheim|G. Fischer]], 1814 | subdivision_ranks = [[Subfamily|Subfamilies]] | subdivision = [[Crocidurinae]]<br> [[Myosoricinae]]<br> [[Soricinae]] }} '''Shrews''' are small, superficially mouse-like [[mammal]]s of the [[Family (biology)|family]] '''Soricidae'''. Although their external appearance is generally that of a long-[[nose]]d [[mouse]], the shrews are not [[rodent]]s and not closely related: the shrew family is part of the [[order (biology)|order]] [[Soricomorpha]]. Shrews have feet with five clawed toes, unlike [[rodent]]s, which have four. Shrews are also not to be confused with either [[treeshrew]]s or [[elephant shrew]]s, which belong to different orders. Shrews are distributed almost worldwide: of the major temperate land masses, only New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand do not have native shrews at all; [[South America]] has shrews only in the far-northern tropics, including [[Colombia]]. In terms of species diversity, the shrew family is the fourth most successful of the mammal families, being rivalled only by the [[Muroidea|muroid]] families [[Muridae]] and [[Cricetidae]] and the [[bat]] family [[Vespertilionidae]]. ==Characteristics== All shrews are small, most no more than mouse size. The largest species is the [[House Shrew]] (''Suncus murinus'') of tropical Asia which is about 15 cm long and weighs around 100&nbsp;grams{{fact|date=November 2007}}; several are very small, notably the [[Etruscan Shrew]] (''Suncus etruscus'') which at about 3.5 cm and 2 grams is the smallest living terrestrial mammal. In general, shrews are terrestrial creatures that forage for seeds, insects, nuts, worms and a variety of other foods in leaf litter and dense vegetation, but some specialise in climbing trees, living underground, in the [[Subnivean|subniveal layer]] or even hunting in water. They have small eyes, and generally poor [[Visual perception|vision]], but have excellent senses of [[hearing (sense)|hearing]] and [[olfaction|smell]].<ref name=EoM>{{cite book |editor=Macdonald, D.|author= Barnard, Christopher J.|year=1984 |title= The Encyclopedia of Mammals|publisher= Facts on File|location=New York|pages= 758-763|isbn= 0-87196-871-1}}</ref> They are very active animals, with voracious appetites and unusually high [[metabolic rate]]s. Shrews must eat 80-90 per cent of their own body weight in food daily. They are not able to [[hibernation|hibernate]]. Whereas rodents have gnawing [[incisor]]s that grow throughout life, the teeth of shrews wear down throughout life, a problem made more extreme by the fact that they lose their [[milk teeth]] before birth, and therefore have only one set of teeth throughout their lifetime. Apart from the first pair of incisors, which are long and sharp, and the chewing [[Molar (tooth)|molar]]s at the back of the mouth, the teeth of shrews are small and peg-like, and may be reduced in number. The [[dentition|dental formula]] of shrews is:{{dentition2|3.1.1-3.3|1-2.0-1.1.3}} Shrews are fiercely territorial, driving off rivals, and only coming together to mate. Many species dig [[burrow]]s for caching food and hiding from predators, although this is not universal.<ref name=EoM/>. Female shrews can have up to ten litters a year, and the animals only stop breeding in the winter in temperate zones, and breed all year round in the tropics. Shrews have a [[gestation]] period of 17–32 days. The female often becomes pregnant within a day or so of giving birth, and [[lactation|lactates]] during her pregnancy, [[weaning]] one litter as the next is born<ref name=EoM/>. Shrews live for between 12 and 30 months.<ref>{{cite book | last = Macdonald (Ed) | first = Professor David W. | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = The Encyclopedia of Mammals | publisher = Oxford University Press | date = 2006 | location = | pages = | url = | doi = | isbn = 0-19-920608-2 }}</ref> Shrews are unusual among mammals in a number of respects. Unlike most mammals, some species of shrew are [[venom (poison)|venomous]]. Also, along with the [[bat]]s and [[toothed whale]]s, some [[echolocating shrews|species of shrew]] use [[animal echolocation|echolocation]]. Unlike most other mammals, shrews also do not have a [[zygomatic bone]]. Shrews hold nearly 10% of their mass in their brain, a relatively high [[brain to body mass ratio]].<ref>[http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2004/11/brains_of_white.php Brains of White Matter]</ref> ===Echolocation=== [[Image:NShortTailedShrew23.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Northern Short-tailed Shrew]] is known to echolocate]] The only terrestrial mammals known to [[animal echolocation|echolocate]] are two genera (''[[Sorex]]'' and ''[[Blarina]]'') of shrews and the [[tenrec]]s of [[Madagascar]]. These include the [[Vagrant Shrew]] (''Sorex vagrans''), the [[Common Shrew|Common or Eurasian Shrew]] (''Sorex araneus''), and the [[Northern Short-tailed Shrew]] (''Blarina brevicauda''). The shrews emit series of ultrasonic squeaks. In contrast to bats, shrews probably use echolocation to investigate their habitat rather than to pinpoint food{{fact|date=November 2007}}. ==Classification== There are 376 species of shrew in 26 genera, which are grouped into three living subfamilies: [[Crocidurinae]] ([[white-toothed shrew]]s), [[Myosoricinae]] (African white-toothed shrews) and [[Soricinae]] ([[red-toothed shrew]]s). In addition, the family contains the extinct subfamilies [[Limnoecinae]], [[Crocidosoricinae]], [[Allosoricinae]] and [[Heterosoricinae]] (although Heterosoricinae is also commonly considered a separate family). *'''Family Soricidae''' **Subfamily [[Crocidurinae]] ***''[[Crocidura]]'' ***''[[Diplomeson]]'' ***''[[Feroculus]]'' ***''[[Paracrocidura]]'' ***''[[Ruwenzorisorex]]'' ***''[[Scutisorex]]'' ***''[[Solisorex]]'' ***''[[Suncus]]'' ***''[[Sylvisorex]]'' **Subfamily [[Myosoricinae]] ***''[[Congosorex]]'' ***''[[Myosorex]]'' ***''[[Surdisorex]]'' **Subfamily [[Soricinae]] ***Tribe [[Anourosoricini]] ****''[[Anourosorex]]'' ***Tribe [[Blarinellini]] ****''[[Blarinella]]'' ***Tribe [[Blarinini]] ****''[[Blarina]]'' ****''[[Cryptotis]]'' ***Tribe [[Nectogalini]] ****''[[Chimarrogale]]'' ****''[[Chodsigoa]]'' ****''[[Episoriculus]]'' ****''[[Nectogale]]'' ****''[[Neomys]]'' ****''[[Nesiotites]]'' ****''[[Soriculus]]'' ***Tribe [[Notiosoricini]] ****''[[Megasorex]]'' ****''[[Notiosorex]]'' ***Tribe [[Soricini]] ****''[[Sorex]]'' == Metaphorical usage == In the [[English language]], the word shrew is also used to describe a woman with a violent, scolding, or nagging temperament, as in [[Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]''. The animals were believed historically to behave aggressively and with cruelty, and to have a poisonous bite; the term "shrew" was then applied to a person thought to have a similar disposition.<ref>[[Stefan Buczacki]], ''Fauna Britannica'', 2002, ISBN 0-600-61392-5</ref> ''Shrew'' was one of the names originally proposed for the British Fighter Airplane which finally became known as the ''[[Supermarine Spitfire#Name_origin|Spitfire]]'' and played a key role in the Second World War. ==References== {{reflist}} * Buchler, E.R. 1973. The use of echolocation by the wandering shrew, Sorex vagrans Baird. Diss. Abstr. Int. B. Sci. Eng. 33(7): 3380-3381. * Buchler, E.R. 1976. Experimental demonstration of echolocation by the wandering shrew (Sorex vagrans). Anim. Behav. 24(4): 858-873. * Busnel, R.-G. (Ed.). 1963. Acoustic Behaviour of Animals. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Company. * Forsman, K.A., Malmquist, M.G. 1988. Evidence for echolocation in the common shrew, Sorex araneus. J. Zool., Lond. 216 (4): 655-663. . * Gould, E. 1962. Evidence for echolocation in shrews.Ph.D. Thesis, Tulane University. * Gould, E., Negus, N., Novick, A. 1964. Evidence for echolocation in shrews. J. Exp. Zool. 156: 19-38. * Hutterer, R. 1976. Deskriptive und vergleichende Verhaltensstudien an der Zwergspitzmaus, Sorex minutus L., und der Waldspitzmaus, Sorex araneus L. (Soricidae - Insectivora - Mammalia). Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Wien. * Hutterer, R., Vogel., P. 1977. Abwehrlaute afrikanischer Spitzmäuse der Gattung Crocidura Wagler, 1832 und ihre systematische Bedeutung. Bonn. Zool. Beitr. 28(3/4): 218-227. * Hutterer, R., Vogel, P., Frey, H., Genoud, M. 1979. Vocalization of the shrews Suncus etruscus and Crocidura russula during normothermia and torpor. Acta Theriol. 24(21): 267-271. * Irwin, D.V., Baxter, R.M. 1980. Evidence against the use of echolocation by Crocidura f. flavescens (Soricidae). Säugetierk. Mitt. 28(4): 323. * Kahmann, H., Ostermann, K. 1951. Wahrnehmen und Hervorbringen hoher Töne bei kleinen Säugetieren. Experientia 7(7): 268-269. * Köhler, D., Wallschläger, D. 1987. Über die Lautäußerungen der Wasserspitzmaus, Neomys fodiens (Insectivora: Soricidae). Zool. Jb. Physiol. 91: 89-99. * Sales, G., Pye, D. 1974. Ultrasonic communication by animals. London. * Tomasi, T.E. 1979. Echolocation by the short-tailed shrew Blarina brevicauda. J. Mammalogy 60(4): 751-759. [[Category:Shrews| ]] [[Category:Mammals of Europe]] [[ar:زباب]] [[ca:Musaranya]] [[da:Spidsmus]] [[de:Spitzmäuse]] [[es:Soricidae]] [[eo:Soriko]] [[fr:Soricidae]] [[io:Musareno]] [[id:Celurut]] [[it:Soricidae]] [[he:חדפיים]] [[lt:Kirstukiniai]] [[nl:Spitsmuizen]] [[ja:トガリネズミ]] [[no:Spissmus]] [[nn:Spissmus]] [[nrm:Mustchinne]] [[pl:Ryjówkowate]] [[pt:Musaranho]] [[ru:Землеройковые]] [[simple:Shrew]] [[fi:Päästäiset]] [[sv:Näbbmöss]] [[tl:Soricidae]] [[tr:Sivri faregiller]] [[zh:鼩鼱科]]