Eurasian Pygmy Shrew

About this species

Size

About 5cm; tail 3.5cm

Weight

About 4g

Diet

Small invertebrates; eats up to 125% of its body weight daily

Habitat

Dense vegetation across a broad elevation range; uses other rodents' burrows

Range

Widespread in the northern Palearctic

Litter size

2–8 young; up to 5 litters a year

Gestation

Just over three weeks

The Eurasian pygmy shrew is a widespread shrew of the northern Palearctic, about 5 cm long with a 3.5 cm tail and an average weight of about 4 g. The dense, shiny fur on the back is blackish with reddish to purplish shades, contrasting with a whitish belly, throat, jaw and lower tail. The muzzle and legs have sparse white hair, and the small ears are half hidden in fur (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is solitary and active day and night, in areas of dense vegetation across a broad range of elevation, using burrows or tunnels of other rodents under tree stumps. It has one of the highest metabolic rates of any animal and must eat about every two hours, up to 125% of its body weight a day. The breeding season runs from April to August, gestation is just over three weeks, and up to five litters of two to eight young are possible in a year. The cached account gives no detail specific to India (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)