Greater white-toothed shrew

Description

The greater white-toothed shrew (Crocidura russula) is a small insectivorous mammal found in Europe and North Africa.It is the most common of the white-toothed shrews.This species is found along the Mediterranean,Netherlands,Belgium,Germany and Portugal;in addition,the Osorio shrew of the Canary island of Gran Canaria,originally described as a separate species (Crocidura osorio),was later discovered to be a population of introduced greater white-toothed shrew.Its preferred habitats are grassland and woodland.It is slightly larger than the lesser white-toothed shrew but otherwise very similar,and can often be distinguished only by close inspection of its teeth which are unpigmented.The greater white-toothed shrew is distinguished by a careful examination of their unpigmented teeth.Like other "white toothed-shrews",C.russula lacks the deposition of iron in their enamel at the tips of their teeth.This particular species has a greyish or reddish brown upper coat with a yellowish grey coat in the underside.The greater white-toothed shrews are part of the medium-sized shrews and weigh around 11 grams to 14 grams.The head and body length of C.russula is about 6 to 9 cm and the tail length averages to about 3 to 4.3 cm