Eurasian Pygmy Shrew

The Eurasian pygmy shrew is a minute, slender mammal measuring 39–60 mm and weighing 2.4–6.1 g. It has a sleek, dense coat with gray-brown to brown upperparts and a grayish-white underside. Its narrow pointed snout bears prominent whiskers, while its eyes are small and its ears short and rounded. The relatively long, hairy, distinctly two-colored tail measures 32–46 mm. Iron deposited in the teeth gives them a characteristic red coloration and helps protect them against wear. (Animal Diversity Web)

This shrew ranges widely through the Palearctic, including much of continental Europe, European Russia, and Siberia. Dense vegetation provides cover in forests, woodland edges, shrubland, heath, grassland, wetlands, dunes, rocky areas, pasture, and hedgerows from sea level to 2,260 m. It lives solitarily and actively defends an established territory. Its exceptionally high metabolism requires daily consumption of insects amounting to approximately 125% of its body weight. Females bear litters of four to twelve after a gestation lasting 19–25 days. (Animal Diversity Web)