The Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus)

in #nature7 years ago (edited)

Etruscan shrew (Latin Suncus etruscus) - the smallest of all known mammals in the world. The weight of her body does not exceed 1.8 grams, and the body grows to a maximum of four centimeters in length (not counting the tail).

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An incredibly fast metabolism makes eating twice as much as her own weight, keeping her body temperature at the required level. The heart of a dwarfish white-tooth beats with a hard-to-imagine speed of 25 beats per second.

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Hostage to rapid metabolic processes, this shrew is forced to constantly be in motion, except when it hides from predators. But this respite can not last longer than thirty minutes.

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Because of the high rate of metabolism and nightlife, Etruscan shrews have to track down, catch and kill the victim in the dark. Favorite food - spiders, cockroaches and crickets.

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The large size of the production will not stop the brave hunter who achieves his goal thanks to extremely accurate and fast attacking movements.

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To detect insects, especially in the dark, the Etruscan shrew uses thick bundles of hair growing on the sides of its long muzzle. With their help, the shrew understands and remembers the characteristics of the prey.

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This method of tactile recognition of objects is analogous to the action of human vision, but occurs many times faster, and the information received enters the brain, twenty thousand times smaller than the human brain.

With the best wishes, @gleb-jeglov aka Evgeny

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Wow! This animal has also extremely short lifetime due to its size. The smaller animal, the faster metabolism, the faster cells get worn out. Because of that Etruscan Shrewsbury lifespan is about 1.5 year, comparing to tortoises who can live over one hundred years.

Yes you are right, this is their feature. Thanks for the comment!!