There are two contenders for the title of smallest mammal says Stuart Blackman, it depends how you’re measuring it.
In terms of mass, the smallest mammal is probably the Etruscan shrew, found in the Mediterranean and Asia, which weighs as little as 1.2g – less than a quarter of a jelly baby. Incredibly, it’s small enough to squeeze through the tunnels left by large earthworms.
It enjoys a diet of small vertebrates and invertebrates, and thanks to its fast metabolism can eat nearly double its own body weight per day. The Etruscan shrew might be small but it has one mighty appetite!
The shrew’s main challenger to the title of smallest mammal is the smallest bat in the world, the Kitti’s hog-nosed bat from Thailand and Myanmar. Also known as the bumblebee bat, it’s a little heavier than the Etruscan shrew, but its skeletal dimensions are smaller.
Wondering how the bat got its name? That’s due to their rather distinctive pig-like noses – hog being an alternative name for pig.
Life happens fast for such tiny mammals – the shrew’s heart beats up to 25 times every second.
Main image: Etruscan Pygmy Shrew is one of the smallest mammal in the world © Getty Images