Dwarf Tooth

It is found in southern Europe - Portugal , Spain , France , Italy , Greece , Malta , on the coast of the Adriatic , Ionian and Aegean Seas, in the coastal regions of Arabia , North Africa , Central Asia , India and Sri Lanka , the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines , in southern China , Taiwan and Japan . In addition, finds of the remains of polydentae indicate their presence in Kazakhstan - in the northern part of the Ustyurt plateau and north of the Aral Sea ^{[3] [4]} .

On the territory of Russia, primary ranges of this species do not exist, however, according to some reports, a baby shrew introduced by cargo ships was found in the vicinity of the ports of Primorye and the European part of Russia ^[5] .

A subspecies of dwarf polydental ( Suncus etruscus etruscus ) is included in the Red Book of Kazakhstan , as a rare and practically unexplored subspecies ^[4] .

The dwarf tooth has an elongated slender body with a large head, sharply tapering into a long movable proboscis. The total body length is from 3 to 4.5 centimeters, not counting the tail, which can reach a length of up to 3.5 centimeters. The mass of the animal does not exceed 1.7 grams (on average - 1-1.5 grams). The head is large in relation to the body, the ears are large, but the hind limbs are medium in size. The animal has 30 teeth, the mustache is short and dense. The upper body and sides are covered with brownish-gray hair, the fur on the abdomen has a noticeably lighter color ^[3] .

Typical habitats are moist natural shelters (crevices, rock cracks, ruins of ancient buildings) of the foothills and lower zones of mountain ranges, overgrown along the coast of small reservoirs. Often found in human habitats - gardens, gardens, along the edges of fields. Digs holes or takes holes in other animals ( moles , mouse-like rodents), also settles in the voids of stumps and fallen tree trunks, under deadwood , less often in human buildings ^[4] .

Representatives of the species are mainly nocturnal , feeding only in the afternoon near their shelter. Like most shrews, dwarf polydentine daily need to consume the amount of food that exceeds its own weight in 1.5-2 or more times. At the same time, the heart of a dwarf polydental beats with a frequency of 1500 beats per minute. They are omnivores, but eat mainly insects , their larvae and earthworms . They can attack small vertebrates: frogs , lizards , cubs of small rodents. They benefit forestry and agriculture by destroying pests ^[4] . The dwarf shrew lives 1.5-3 years.

The breeding season lasts from March to October. Vapors form in the spring and pregnancy lasts 27-28 days. The female brings from 2 to 6 cubs who are born naked, blind with a weight of not more than 0.2 grams. Eyes open only on the 14th day. The female feeds the children with milk for 20 days, at the age of 4 weeks the animals become independent.