It is hard to guess what a Hero shrew weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Hero shrew (Scutisorex somereni) on average weights 91 grams (0.2 lbs).
The Hero shrew is from the family Soricidae (genus: Scutisorex). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 23.6 cm (0′ 10″). Usually, Hero shrews have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The hero shrew (Scutisorex somereni), also known as the armored shrew, is a large shrew native to the Congo Basin of Africa. Its features are typical of a white-toothed shrew − short legs, slender snout, dense fur − except for a highly unusual spinal column. It has corrugated interlocking vertebrae that are unique among mammals except for its sister species, Thor’s hero shrew. This unique adaptation allows the animal to bear a huge amount of weight on its back − 72 kg (159 lb) according to an expedition team.The hero shrew lives in both lowland and mountain forests. They live in the undergrowth, feeding primarily on invertebrates. The evolutionary benefit of its unusual spine is not known; it is hypothesized that it allows the animal to push itself under logs and between palm leaves and the tree’s trunk to find food. The hero shrew is believed to hold magical powers by the local tribes. It is classified as Least Concern by IUCN.
Animals of the same family as a Hero shrew
We found other animals of the Soricidae family:
- Somali shrew with a weight of 11 grams
- Flat-skulled shrew with a weight of 13 grams
- Niobe’s shrew with a weight of 16 grams
- Fraser’s musk shrew with a weight of 17 grams
- Northern short-tailed shrew with a weight of 18 grams
- Savanna path shrew with a weight of 16 grams
- Elgon shrew with a weight of 6 grams
- Madagascan pygmy shrew with a weight of 2 grams
- Salenski’s shrew with a weight of 5 grams
- Elegant water shrew with a weight of 38 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Hero shrew
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Scutisorex somereni:
- Bocage’s mole-rat bringing 93 grams to the scale
- Goldman’s spiny pocket mouse bringing 85 grams to the scale
- Thomas’s Oldfield mouse bringing 77 grams to the scale
- Rosalinda’s Oldfield mouse bringing 77 grams to the scale
- Golden hamster bringing 98 grams to the scale
- Water vole (North America) bringing 92 grams to the scale
- Big-eared climbing rat bringing 86 grams to the scale
- Major’s tufted-tailed rat bringing 100 grams to the scale
- White-tipped tufted-tailed rat bringing 100 grams to the scale
- Greater tree mouse bringing 105 grams to the scale
Animals with the same litter size as a Hero shrew
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Hero shrew: