Short-tailed Shrew
Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Insectivora

Family: Soricidae

Genus Blarina

Species: Blarina brevicauda

Short-tailed shrews are small rodents, with heavy snouts, small eyes and ears, and short tails. They are found in almost all biomes on land, including tundras, temperate forests, rainforests, and temperate grasslands. Shrews are 75 to 105 mm long, with 17 to 33 mm tails. They are almost always completely grey, and their fur is very soft and fine.

Short-tailed shrews are primarily insectivores, but eat plant material from time to time, as wells. They eat a lot, and they must feed frequently. They consume many different small invertebrates, such as beetles and snails. Some of the food shrews forage is put into storage for consumption during the winter months.

Shrews may be active both day and night, and are active throughout the entire year. They may construct their own nests and passages through leaves and plant debris, but sometimes use the tunnels of mice and moles. Shrews serve as a food source for owls, and other small predators with which they share their habitat.
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