White-toothed shrew

White-toothed shrew
Crocidurinae[1]
Temporal range: Miocene to Recent
Greater White-toothed Shrew, (Crocidura russula)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Soricomorpha
Family: Soricidae
Subfamily: Crocidurinae
Genera

see species list

The white-toothed shrews or Crocidurinae are one of three subfamilies of the shrew family Soricidae.

Unlike the red-toothed shrews, the outer layer of their teeth is white. These species are typically found in Africa and southern Europe and Asia. This subfamily includes the largest shrew, the Asian House Shrew (Suncus murinus), at about 15 cm in length, and the smallest, the Etruscan Shrew (Suncus etruscus), at about 3.5 cm in length and 2 grams in weight, possibly the world's smallest living mammal (although some give this title to the Bumblebee Bat). Crocidura contains the largest number of species of any mammal genus.

When young must be moved before they are independent, mother and young form a chain or "caravan" where each animal hangs on to the rear of the one in front. This behaviour has also been observed in some Sorex species.

White-toothed Shrews have the intellect of a dog, and have been found to work individually as well as in a group. They possess tiny spikes on their back that only appear when scared or angry.

List of species

Subfamily Crocidurinae

References

  1. ^ Hutterer, Rainer (16 November 2005). Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M.. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). pp. 224-263. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3.