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Litter Size

How many babies does a Northern short-tailed shrew have at once? (litter size)

How many baby Northern short-tailed shrews are in a litter?

A Northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) usually gives birth to around 5 babies.With 3 litters per year, that sums up to a yearly offspring of 15 babies.

Each of those little ones spend around 20 days as a fetus before they are released into the wild. Upon birth, they weight 23.38 kg (51.54 lbs) and measure 5.2 cm (0′ 3″). They are a member of the Soricidae family (genus: Blarina). An adult Northern short-tailed shrew grows up to a size of 12.1 cm (0′ 5″).

To have a reference: Humans obviously usually have a litter size of one ;). Their babies are in the womb of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks) and reach an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). They weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual, and reach an average age of 75 years.

The average litter size of a Northern short-tailed shrew is 5

The northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active, and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats like broadleaved and pine forests among shrubs and hedges as well as grassy river banks. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. The specific epithet, brevicauda, is a combination of the Latin brevis and cauda, meaning “short tail”.

Other animals of the family Soricidae

Northern short-tailed shrew is a member of the Soricidae, as are these animals:

Animals that share a litter size with Northern short-tailed shrew

Those animals also give birth to 5 babies at once:

Animals that get as old as a Northern short-tailed shrew

Other animals that usually reach the age of 2.75 years:

Animals with the same weight as a Northern short-tailed shrew

What other animals weight around 18 grams (0.04 lbs)?

Animals with the same size as a Northern short-tailed shrew

Also reaching around 12.1 cm (0′ 5″) in size do these animals: