How big does a North American least shrew get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown North American least shrew (Cryptotis parva) reaches an average size of 6.8 cm (0′ 3″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). Usually, they reach an age of 1.75 years. A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 4 grams (0.01 lbs). Talking about reproduction, North American least shrews have 4 babies about 2 times per year. The North American least shrew (genus: Cryptotis) 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 North American least shrew (Cryptotis parva) is one of the smallest mammals, growing to be only up to 3 inches long. It has a long pointed snout and a tail never more than twice the length of its hind foot. The dense fur coat is either grayish-brown or reddish-brown with a white belly. Its fur becomes lighter in the summer and darker in the winter. Although similar in appearance to several species of rodents, all shrews are members of the order Soricomorpha and should not be mistaken for a member of the Rodentia order. The North American least shrew’s eyes are small and its ears are completely concealed within its short fur, giving it very poor eyesight and hearing.
Animals of the same family as a North American least shrew
We found other animals of the Soricidae family:
- American water shrew with a size of 7.4 cm (0′ 3″)
- Southeast Asian shrew with 1 babies per litter
- Niobe’s shrew with 2 babies per litter
- Scaly-footed small-eared shrew with a weight of 11 grams
- Bicolored musk shrew with a size of 6 cm (0′ 3″)
- Salenski’s shrew with a weight of 5 grams
- Eurasian pygmy shrew with a size of 5.7 cm (0′ 3″)
- Marsh shrew with a size of 8.5 cm (0′ 4″)
- Eurasian least shrew with a size of 5.2 cm (0′ 3″)
- Crocidura grandiceps with a weight of 23 grams
Animals with the same size as a North American least shrew
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as North American least shrew:
- African pygmy squirrel with a size of 6.9 cm (0′ 3″)
- Desert long-eared bat with a size of 6.4 cm (0′ 3″)
- Underwood’s long-tongued bat with a size of 5.9 cm (0′ 3″)
- New Guinean jumping mouse with a size of 8.1 cm (0′ 4″)
- Fat mouse with a size of 5.8 cm (0′ 3″)
- Great Basin pocket mouse with a size of 8.1 cm (0′ 4″)
- Common noctule with a size of 7.5 cm (0′ 3″)
- Roborovski dwarf hamster with a size of 7.2 cm (0′ 3″)
- Parnell’s mustached bat with a size of 5.7 cm (0′ 3″)
- Ranee mouse with a size of 7.5 cm (0′ 3″)
Animals with the same litter size as a North American least shrew
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (4) as a North American least shrew:
- Lesser short-tailed gerbil
- Lesser Egyptian gerbil
- Dsinezumi shrew
- Typical striped grass mouse
- Marsh rice rat
- Southern big-eared mouse
- Northern birch mouse
- African grass rat
- Southern African hedgehog
- New England cottontail
Animals with the same life expectancy as a North American least shrew
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a North American least shrew:
- Mongolian gerbil with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Feather-tailed possum with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Grant’s golden mole with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Dusky antechinus with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Atlantic bamboo rat with an average maximal age of 1.58 years
- Aegialomys galapagoensis with an average maximal age of 1.67 years
- Norway lemming with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Texas mouse with an average maximal age of 1.5 years
- Red-cheeked dunnart with an average maximal age of 2 years
- Common shrew with an average maximal age of 2 years
Animals with the same weight as a North American least shrew
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Cryptotis parva:
- Groove-toothed bat bringing 4 grams to the scale
- Lesser bamboo bat bringing 4 grams to the scale
- California myotis bringing 4 grams to the scale
- Pygmy shrew tenrec bringing 4 grams to the scale
- Least long-fingered bat bringing 4 grams to the scale
- Lesser horseshoe bat bringing 4 grams to the scale
- Saussure’s shrew bringing 4 grams to the scale
- Remy’s pygmy shrew bringing 4 grams to the scale
- Doucet’s musk shrew bringing 4 grams to the scale
- Wall-roosting mouse-eared bat bringing 4 grams to the scale