How big does a Asian house shrew get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) reaches an average size of 12.6 cm (0′ 5″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 2.5 years, they grow from 2 grams (0 lbs) to 43 grams (0.09 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Asian house shrews have 3 babies about 9 times per year. The Asian house shrew (genus: Suncus) 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 Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus), house shrew, grey musk shrew, Asian musk shrew or Indian musk shrew is a widespread, adaptable species of shrew found mainly in South Asia but introduced widely throughout Asia and eastern Africa. It is a large shrew with a strong musk smell, and is related to the Etruscan shrew.This species is locally called chuchunder in India and is mentioned in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, as a nocturnal inhabitant of houses in India, by the name of chuchundra. However, Kipling’s mistaken use of the name ‘musk rat’ has led to confusion with the unrelated North American muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), and the latter species, not found in India, was (erroneously) illustrated in the Jungle Book.This house shrew is categorized as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is also considered an invasive species and implicated in the demise of several island lizard species.
Animals of the same family as a Asian house shrew
We found other animals of the Soricidae family:
- Prairie shrew with 7 babies per litter
- Southeast Asian shrew with 1 babies per litter
- Lesser striped shrew with a size of 6.8 cm (0′ 3″)
- Jouvenet’s shrew with a weight of 9 grams
- Climbing shrew with 1 babies per litter
- African giant shrew with a size of 10.8 cm (0′ 5″)
- Bicolored musk shrew with a size of 6 cm (0′ 3″)
- Saint Lawrence Island shrew with a size of 6.3 cm (0′ 3″)
- Tundra shrew with a size of 6.8 cm (0′ 3″)
- Savanna swamp shrew with a weight of 19 grams
Animals with the same size as a Asian house shrew
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Asian house shrew:
- Giant kangaroo rat with a size of 14.8 cm (0′ 6″)
- Rusty-bellied brush-furred rat with a size of 11.8 cm (0′ 5″)
- African wading rat with a size of 12.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Heermann’s kangaroo rat with a size of 11.1 cm (0′ 5″)
- Salim Ali’s fruit bat with a size of 10.6 cm (0′ 5″)
- Sculptor squirrel with a size of 12 cm (0′ 5″)
- Dusky slender opossum with a size of 13.1 cm (0′ 6″)
- Neblina slender opossum with a size of 12.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Coxing’s white-bellied rat with a size of 13 cm (0′ 6″)
- Western chestnut mouse with a size of 10.1 cm (0′ 4″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Asian house shrew
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Asian house shrew:
- Beech marten
- Greater Egyptian gerbil
- Hooper’s mouse
- Greater cane rat
- Coast mole
- Ring-tailed ground squirrel
- Deroo’s mouse
- Mexican volcano mouse
- Hartwig’s soft-furred mouse
- Common punaré
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Asian house shrew
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Asian house shrew:
- Dusky antechinus with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Merriam’s kangaroo rat with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Southern Plains woodrat with an average maximal age of 2.25 years
- Coast mole with an average maximal age of 3 years
- White-footed dunnart with an average maximal age of 2.5 years
- Eastern woodrat with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Northern brown bandicoot with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Tome’s spiny rat with an average maximal age of 2.58 years
- African wading rat with an average maximal age of 3 years
- Robinson’s mouse opossum with an average maximal age of 2 years
Animals with the same weight as a Asian house shrew
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Suncus murinus:
- Greater broad-nosed bat bringing 37 grams to the scale
- Small Luzon forest mouse bringing 35 grams to the scale
- Ecuadorian grass mouse bringing 39 grams to the scale
- Spotted bolo mouse bringing 37 grams to the scale
- Black-tailed dasyure bringing 38 grams to the scale
- Dalton’s mouse bringing 35 grams to the scale
- Handleyomys chapmani bringing 49 grams to the scale
- Vordermann’s flying squirrel bringing 36 grams to the scale
- White-winged vampire bat bringing 36 grams to the scale
- Polynesian rat bringing 50 grams to the scale