Shrew

Shrews are approximately 200 to possible 290 species of small animals constituting the family Soricidae in the order insectivora. They are like a rat in general appearance but have longer, pointed snouts, small ears, and tiny eyes. Their fur is short and dense and usually brown or gray in color. Shrews are found in North and Central America and the extreme northwestern tip of South America, in Eurasia, and in Africa. Most are terrestrial and commonly live near stream or other moist sites. Some species called water shrews are aquatic.

Shrews are the smallest of all living mammals, ranging in size from Savi's pygmy shrew, Suncus entruscus, of Eurasia, which is 60 to 80 mm (2.4 to 3.1 in) long, including its tail, and 1.5 to 2 g (0.05 to 0.07 oz) in weight, to the rat sized. African forest shrew, Praesorex goliath, which reach 290 mm (11.4 in) in length its tail.

Because of high metabolic rate, shrew must normally eat about two-thirds of their body weight in food each day; under certain conditions, such as when the female is nursing young, this intake may be much higher. Shrews feed mainly on insects but commonly take a wide variety of animal foods.

The elephant shrews are mouse to rat size mammals of the family Macroscelididae in the order insectivora. They have long, somewhat flexible snouts, large eyes, and long hind legs. The 16 to 28 species are native to Africa, where they are found from open plaints to forest.

The other shrews are 3 species of aquatic African insectivores classified either as a subfamily of the tenrecs, family Tenrecidae, or as a family of their own, Potamogalidae. They are the largest of the insectivores, the giant otter shrew, Potamogale, reaching about 60 cm (2 ft) in length, almost half of which is the powerful tail.