{"id":31576,"date":"2023-09-07T18:23:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T16:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=79264"},"modified":"2023-09-07T20:35:46","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T18:35:46","slug":"whats-the-smallest-mammal-in-the-world-meet-the-tiny-mammals","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/whats-the-smallest-mammal-in-the-world-meet-the-tiny-mammals\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the smallest mammal in the world? Meet the tiny mammals"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are two contenders for the title of smallest mammal says Stuart Blackman, it depends how you\u2019re measuring it. <\/p>

By Stuart Blackman\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 07 September 2023 at 16:23 PM<\/p>

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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 \u2013 less than a quarter of a jelly baby. Incredibly, it\u2019s small enough to squeeze through the tunnels left by large earthworms.<\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

The shrew\u2019s main challenger to the title of smallest mammal is the smallest bat in the world, the Kitti\u2019s hog-nosed bat from Thailand and Myanmar. Also known as the bumblebee bat, it\u2019s a little heavier than the Etruscan shrew, but its skeletal dimensions are smaller.<\/p>\n

Wondering how the bat got its name?\u00a0 That\u2019s due to their rather distinctive pig-like noses \u2013 hog being an alternative name for pig.<\/p>\n

\"Stuffed\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Stuffed specimen of Kitti\u2019s hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai). Exhibit in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan. \u00a9 Momotarou2012, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Life happens fast for such tiny mammals \u2013 the shrew\u2019s heart beats up to 25 times every second.<\/p>\n