How big does a Eurasian water shrew get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens) reaches an average size of 8.1 cm (0′ 4″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). Usually, they reach an age of 3 years. A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 15 grams (0.03 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Eurasian water shrews have 6 babies about 2 times per year. The Eurasian water shrew (genus: Neomys) is a member of the family Soricidae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens), known in the United Kingdom as the water shrew, is a relatively large shrew, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, with a tail up to three-quarters as long again. It has short, dark fur, often with a few white tufts, a white belly, and a few stiff hairs around the feet and tail. It lives close to fresh water, hunting aquatic prey in the water and nearby. Its fur traps bubbles of air in the water which greatly aids its buoyancy, but requires it to anchor itself to remain underwater for more than the briefest of dives.Like many shrews, the water shrew has venomous saliva, making it one of the few venomous mammals, although it is not able to puncture the skin of large animals, nor that of humans. Highly territorial, it lives a solitary life and is found throughout the northern part of Europe and Asia, from Britain to Korea.
Animals of the same family as a Eurasian water shrew
We found other animals of the Soricidae family:
- Montane white-toothed shrew with a weight of 14 grams
- Smith’s shrew with a size of 8.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Etruscan shrew with 4 babies per litter
- Salenski’s shrew with a weight of 5 grams
- Greater red musk shrew with 3 babies per litter
- Hildegarde’s shrew with a weight of 10 grams
- Yankari shrew with a weight of 5 grams
- Hero shrew with 1 babies per litter
- Malayan pygmy shrew with a weight of 5 grams
- Himalayan shrew with a size of 9.8 cm (0′ 4″)
Animals with the same size as a Eurasian water shrew
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Eurasian water shrew:
- Gansu shrew with a size of 8 cm (0′ 4″)
- Lesser bulldog bat with a size of 6.6 cm (0′ 3″)
- Pallas’s tube-nosed bat with a size of 9.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Delicate vesper mouse with a size of 6.9 cm (0′ 3″)
- Aratathomas’s yellow-shouldered bat with a size of 8.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- White-eared pocket mouse with a size of 7.5 cm (0′ 3″)
- Southern pygmy mouse with a size of 7.5 cm (0′ 3″)
- Western jumping mouse with a size of 9.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Black-bellied fruit bat with a size of 9.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Père David’s vole with a size of 9.3 cm (0′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Eurasian water shrew
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (6) as a Eurasian water shrew:
- Julia Creek dunnart
- New Guinean quoll
- Common shrew
- Arctic shrew
- Maximowicz’s vole
- Northern quoll
- Crest-tailed mulgara
- Bronze quoll
- Cinereus shrew
- Siberian weasel
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Eurasian water shrew
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Eurasian water shrew:
- Japanese shrew mole with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Star-nosed mole with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Dibatag with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Sandstone false antechinus with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Bush rat with an average maximal age of 3.42 years
- Red-tailed phascogale with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Salt marsh harvest mouse with an average maximal age of 2.58 years
- Long-tailed pocket mouse with an average maximal age of 2.5 years
- Smith’s vole with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
- Yellow-footed antechinus with an average maximal age of 3.5 years
Animals with the same weight as a Eurasian water shrew
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Neomys fodiens:
- Smoky white-toothed shrew bringing 14 grams to the scale
- Ghost-faced bat bringing 16 grams to the scale
- European pine vole bringing 17 grams to the scale
- Hairy-tailed bat bringing 14 grams to the scale
- Kilimanjaro shrew bringing 16 grams to the scale
- Velvety free-tailed bat bringing 13 grams to the scale
- Semon’s leaf-nosed bat bringing 14 grams to the scale
- Hairy-footed dunnart bringing 15 grams to the scale
- Lesser hairy-winged bat bringing 13 grams to the scale
- Western pygmy possum bringing 15 grams to the scale