Mouse with a long nose: name, description of the species

Do you know a little mouse with a long nose? If not, we will now talk about it. Such a creature really exists in nature. What is the name of a mouse with a long nose? In the people it is called a shrew. What is this animal? Shrewmakers are mammals, insectivores. This family includes more than 20 genera and 300 species. Consider the most common types.

Shrew shrew

What else are known mice with a long nose (photos of them will be presented in the article)? These shrews are small animals, resembling ordinary mice, only with more elongated noses, a long tail and sharp teeth. Their body is about 7-10 cm long, and their tail is 4-5 cm.

The animal is dark brown on the sides, brown on the sides. The abdomen is grayish white. On the tail is a short, thick fur. A fluffy fur coat covers both ears, often only their tips are visible. Long mustache. There are several differences in color.

Shrew is found in underground burrows. Often, these are the abandoned dwellings of moles or mice that the animal occupies, if after long searches it does not find a free cleft.

In soft soil, she pads along the surface of the necessary passages with her nose-proboscis and forelegs.

This mouse with a long nose lives in many European countries and in Russia, settling in the mountains, gardens, fields. You can also see it and close to settlements - villages and villages. Here in winter for her an ideal environment - nearby warm sheds. A prerequisite - its hole should be near the water source.

Lifestyle and food shrews

Shrew - an animal rather night, like many species of this family. In a strong heat, she never leaves her hole, as high temperatures cause her obviously painful sensations. There are cases when they found dead shrews - this is the result of the influence of sun rays. It is likely that the sun blinds them, and they can not find their way to their hole.

All shrews are terrible gluttons. Therefore, their main occupation is the search for food. Over time, they can eat fodder 2-3 times their own weight. Shrew is constantly turning the proboscis in search of food. As a result, after catching sharp teeth even a large prey, he will not let her go. The named animal eats even its dead brethren and cubs.

Shrews are very uncommunicative and at some incomprehensible situation they immediately hide in a burrow. In this they are similar to moles. These animals never get along with others, and even with their congeners. Except for the mating period.

In the hope of eating each other, between the shrews, there are sometimes prolonged battles - they stubbornly roll on the ground, clutching each other's teeth. Researchers in this regard joke about how good it is that these animals are small in size, otherwise they would quickly eat everyone on the ground and, in the end, die of hunger themselves.

Pregnancy, young

A pregnant shrew is carefully prepared for an offspring. She lined her hole with dry leaves and grass so that a rather soft litter would turn out. In May-July there are about 6-10 cubs. At first the mother takes care of them with trembling and care, but very quickly her love passes. Then the young themselves go in search of food.

Shrew is very active and agile - runs very fast, jumps far and even floats, if necessary. She makes a wheezing sound. Has a highly developed sense of smell, and vision and hearing are most likely never guided.

The danger for a shrew

Very few animals eat the described mouse with a long nose. So, when a cat is found, it catches only. And snakes and birds of prey devour shrews. Most likely, many animals do not eat these animals because of a sharp unpleasant smell. And it is so corrosive that it remains in every place where the shrew visited.

Shrewshark ordinary long-tailed (house shrew)

Another mouse with a long nose is a long-tailed shrew. This is a small animal with a body length of 7-8 cm and a tail of 4-5 cm. The fur is brown at the top and on the sides, and on the abdomen it is light gray. On the paws is a brown-white pile. The upper part of the tail is dark gray, the lower part is gray. The animal has 28 teeth.

From Africa, this species gradually spread throughout Europe, including the north of Russia. The long-tailed shrew is also found in Siberia and the countries of Asia. This animal finds itself in groves and forests extremely rarely, since it prefers fields, gardens and vegetable gardens.

The long-tailed shrew is not in vain has the second name "house shrew". No other species will ever quietly walk about the human dwelling. It is successfully built in basements, cellars, storerooms, settling in some dark corner, which is more or less safe. On the hunt can go out at any time of the day or night. In the wild, he prefers mammals, and in the houses he arranges himself a "feast of the stomach", choosing what is more tasty and fatter - fat, meat, butter, sour cream. Other habits and customs of the house shrew are no different from other species.

Interesting behavior of her brood was noticed - small animals move after the mother with an even link, holding tenacious ends of the tail of the person ahead. This feature in other shrews is almost not manifested.

Small belly

There is another mouse with a long nose. The name "small white-tooth" indicates that this mammal is very small in size. Its length is only 6 cm, of which 2 cm is the tail. The body of the animal is covered with soft fur. Above brownish-red color, bottom gray.

Paws and proboscis dark maroon. The paws are covered with light hairs. It is noteworthy that this species has large ears in relation to the body .
This mouse with a long nose is found in many countries - Italy, France, northern Africa, as well as in Russian cities on the Black Sea coast.

The way of life of the baby is similar to its relatives. It lives in fields, gardens, near villages. But it is more sensitive to low temperatures.

Shabby ordinary (water shrew)

If you are interested in a mouse with a long nose, then pay attention to the curator. It has a variety of colors and belongs to large types of shrews. Basically, the back is velvety black, and the belly is silvery white.

Body length, on average, 12 cm, tail - 5.5 cm. Its thick hair does not get wet in water. Zverek has 30 teeth. On the fingers elastic setae, which help with swimming, creating the effect of the membranes. The tail has the appearance of a crest, which is also an indicator of its aquatic life.

The water curator lives in France, Norway, Great Britain, Scandinavia, right up to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. And also in eastern Europe and China.

This animal lives in floodplain meadows, near swamps. Favorite places of the water shrew are the banks of ponds, lakes and rivers, overgrown with reeds. She quickly swims, dives deeply.

It feeds on waterworms, insects, beetles, frogs, fish and fish caviar. In the cold period makes reserves in its hole. The main time spends in the water, but on land behaves quite confidently.

Conclusion

Now you know what the animal is called like a mouse with a long nose. We examined different species. Described the basic characteristics of shrews. And we hope that the information considered in the article was useful to you.