SEMICE

Seguimiento de los
micromamíferos comunes
de España

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White-toothed pygmy shrew

Suncus etruscus (Savi, 1822)

The smallest mammal in Europe: it does not exceed 3 g in weight. In relation to its size, the parts of the body that stand out the most are the head, ears and tail. The back is usually gray and the belly lighter, with several hairs protruding from the back of the body and mainly from the tail, as happens with the Greater white-toothed shrew. The white-toothed pygmy shrew also belongs to the group of white-toothed shrews. It is distributed throughout much of Europe and Asia, also reaching North Africa. In Catalonia it especially frequents the Mediterranean areas and does not exceed 1,000 meters of altitude. It is found in rather open habitats: crops, thickets and open forests, where it feeds on a large amount of invertebrates to maintain its high metabolism. Breeding takes place between spring and autumn, with an average of three litters during this period. Despite being a relatively common species, its capture is exceptional within the SEMICE project due to its low weight. Therefore, the analysis of the diet of predators is possibly the most efficient methodology to detect its presence.

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Temporal evolution of the number of captures of

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Stations where the species was found (1)

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Captures by station

Station	City	Elevation	Captures
Aiguabarreig de la Gavarresa	Sallent	241	1
Total captures			1