Northern Short-tailed Shrew Skull Replica

Description

Northern Short-tailed Shrew skull replica measures 1.0x 0.5 x 0.4 inches. The Blarina brevicauda is a museum-quality polyurethane resin cast from a private collector. 2-part skull (separate cranium and mandible). 1:1 scale. Made in USA.

The northern short-tailed shrew comes from the forest grasslands of North America. This animal occurs widely across the northeastern region of North America. These small, mostly insectivorous mammals make up about 6.5 percent of all mammal species. This species is the largest shrew in Blarina.

It is a highly active animal that eats a lot of insects. It lives in many places like forests, bushes, hedges, and grassy riverbanks. It is special because it is one of the few mammals with a toxic bite.

The shrew is 4.3 to 5.5 inches long, and its tail is 0.71 to 1.26 inches of that length. It weighs 0.53 to 1.06 ounces. The thick, soft black fur can be black, brown, or gray. Its belly fur is a bit lighter and grayer.

This hunter eats up to three times its own weight in food every day. It eats small amounts of underground mushrooms and seeds, but it mostly eats meat. It prefers bugs, earthworms, mice, snails, and other shrews for most of its food. It also east salamanders and mice.

The spit of the northern short-tailed shrew contains a poison used to freeze and stop its prey. The poison is strong enough to kill small animals that are bigger than the shew itself.

The toxic spit comes from glands in the jaw. It flows through a tube that opens at the bottom of the lower front teeth. The spit runs along a groove in the teeth and into the prey. The bite causes terrible pain to humans.

Scientific Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Eulipotyphla
• Family: Soricidae
• Genus: Blarina
• Species: B. brevicauda
• Binomial name: Blarina brevicauda
• Conservation status: Least concern

Grouping the Northern Short-tailed Shrew skull with the golden-rumped elephant shrew skull replica, the Hispaniolan solenodon skull replica, along with the lowland streaked tenrec skull replica creates an amazing display that demonstrates the diverse traits of small insect-eating mammals.