Shrew is a small animal with a long snout that resembles a mouse. However, it does not belong to rodent family is named as a shrew. It is a small mammal that belongs to the giant family Soricidae contains 376 different species in a total of 26 genera. The general features of shrew are elongated thin bodies and feet that possess five toes. They have sharp pointed teeth that resemble spikes and bright shining eyes. The shrew has a strong sense of smell and hearing, but they have a very poor vision as they typically spend their whole life beneath the ground. Their bodies are covered with short, soft and dense fur that covers their entire body. This is usually gray or brown in color. Shrews are positioned among first placental mammals that evolved during the mammals’ dawn age and started living on the earth 50 million years ago. However, an alarming and the saddening fact remains that quite a few species of shrew are endangered because of the rapid loss of their natural habitat.
The smallest mammal in the entire world belongs to shrew family, and its name is Etruscan Shrew. Etruscan shrew is only 3.5 cm long, and its weight is only two grams. Generically shrews exist in all continents except Australia and Antarctica. They can endure in a vast variety of environments like forests, grounds, moderate land, rainforests, etc. In the regions having a moderate temperature, shrews can breed throughout the year. They only impede breeding during extreme winter conditions. The life span of the common shrew is 12 to 30 months.
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