SHREW is a common name applied to any of numerous extremely small mammals, related to the mole, comprising the family Soricidae in the order InsectÃvora. The animal is mouselike in general appearance but has a long, pointed snout and soft, gray-brown, velvety fur. Most species live on the ground but a few are semiaquatic or arboreal. Shrews are active, nocturnal animals, which feed on insects and worms primarily but also kill and eat mice many times their own size. Many species have glands located on the knees and elbows from which a fluid with a disagreeable odor is secreted. The Shrew family is the largest among the Insectivora and numerous species are found throughout the world. In the United States the most common genera are Sorex, containing the long-tailed shrews, and Blarina, containing the short-tailed shrews. Animals in the genus Sorex are slightly less than 3 inches long. The ears are large and the teeth are brown at the tip. Five to seven young are produced in a litter each spring. The mole shrew. B. brevicauda, the most common shrew in eastern United States, is about 4½ inches long.
