Exploring the World of the Smallest Animals
The Etruscan shrew ( Suncus etruscus ), also known as the Etruscan pygmy shrew or the white-toothed 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] (The bumblebee bat is regarded as the smallest mammal by skull size and body length. [3] [8] ) 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 30°N latitude stretching from Europe and North Africa up to Malaysia . They are also found in the Maltese islands, situated in the middle of the Med...