tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post1812670083082605780..comments2023-12-24T07:02:43.274+08:00Comments on Catalogue of Organisms: Meet the Shrews (Taxon of the Week: Soricidae)Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11075565866351612441noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-19081904126531064782010-05-23T03:15:05.599+08:002010-05-23T03:15:05.599+08:00No, it wasn't - that was the thing I copied be...No, it wasn't - that was the thing I copied before, I blame Bill Gates. This is the shrew paper<br /><br />http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690841/pdf/pone.0005904.pdfPatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-61689432339065918942010-05-23T03:12:01.164+08:002010-05-23T03:12:01.164+08:00Trying to find some info on the venoms I came acro...Trying to find some info on the venoms I came across this paper on melatonin control of circadian rhythm and ageing in Crocidura - called "The Timing of the Shrew" wwww.mlarochelle.net/Vivaces/R/Ruta_INC-Pf_ML_0424_7_11x.jpgPatnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-48282140485386135682010-05-18T19:02:22.277+08:002010-05-18T19:02:22.277+08:00Back on topic:
Other notable features of shrews i...Back on topic:<br /><br /><i>Other notable features of shrews include the production by at least some species of toxic saliva</i><br /><br />Interestingly, toxic saliva seems to have evolved independently more than once in shrews. The soricines <i>Blarina</i> and <i>Neomys</i> (which are only distantly related) definitely have it, but there is also a report suggesting that the crocidurine <i>Crocidura canariensis</i> has a venomous bite (Lopez-Jurado & Mateo, 1996).<br /><br />Those shrew species which are known or suspected to be venomous tend to be relatively large (by shrew standards); perhaps venomous saliva is an adaptation for tackling larger prey?<br /><br />Reference:<br /><br />Lopez-Jurado, L.F. & Mateo, J.A. 1996. Evidence of venom in the Canarian shrew (<i>Crocidura canariensis</i>): immobilizing effects on the Atlantic lizard (<i>Gallotia atlantica</i>). <i>Journal of Zoology, London</i> 239, 394-395.Dartiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-13472410859957689142010-05-18T17:27:41.992+08:002010-05-18T17:27:41.992+08:00And to get to Christmas Island from the Australian...<i>And to get to Christmas Island from the Australian mainland you have to go via the international, not the domestic, airport. Surely that counts for something.</i><br /><br />Yeah, one should not ride the train of thought behind my previous comments too far. (New Caledonia is administratively part of France - does that make the kagu a European bird species?) <br /><br />But still, at the end of the day, policies concerning (for example) the conservation of endangered Christmas Island taxa are the responsibility of Australian authorities; is this not so? And in that sense, if in no other, there is such a thing as an "Australian" species of shrew.Dartiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-24116434122290431452010-05-18T15:34:31.798+08:002010-05-18T15:34:31.798+08:00As Christopher says, Oz is marsupial country.
Act...<i>As Christopher says, Oz is marsupial country.</i><br /><br />Actually, if you tally up the number of species, I believe Australia would be rodent country, with marsupials coming a distant third after bats.<br /><br /><i>But a lot of the small species collectively known as "Marsupial mice" are carnivorous...</i><br /><br />Not "a lot" - they all are, generally feeding on insects. Offhand, one thing that small dasyurids are known for (other than their wild uncontrolled orgies) is their willingness to tackle prey such as grasshoppers that may be as big as, if not larger than, themselves.<br /><br />And to get to Christmas Island from the Australian mainland you have to go via the international, not the domestic, airport. Surely that counts for something.Christopher Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11075565866351612441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-4834486269747521922010-05-18T14:35:18.107+08:002010-05-18T14:35:18.107+08:00Blackbird--
I have read that the ultimate cause of...Blackbird--<br />I have read that the ultimate cause of death in the rare wild shrew (of some species) that makes it into its second year is often starvation due to worn out teeth. So an adaptation that hardens teeth might plausibly be adaptive.<br /><br />Dartian--<br />As Christopher says, Oz is marsupial country. But a lot of the small species collectively known as "Marsupial mice" are carnivorous (polyprotodont dentition, more like primitive mammalian condition, as opposed to the "rodent-like" (yes I know that's a gross oversimplification!) diprotodont condition in typical herbivorous Aussie marsupials) and might better be called "marsupial shrews" on anatomical and ecological grounds.<br /><br />Christopher--<br />As you undoubtedly know, Neomys fodiens is a European species and (for a small mammal) well-studied. Some of the more interesting behavioral observations in Konrad Lorenz's "King Solomon's Ring" are of N. fodiens. (And thanks for a mammal post!)Allen Hazenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05098575774774203097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-75597279332419786462010-05-18T14:32:50.409+08:002010-05-18T14:32:50.409+08:00Nope, Australia is shrew-free.
Ha, it was a trick...<i>Nope, Australia is shrew-free.</i><br /><br />Ha, it was a trick question! Australia the biogeographical entity is indeed shrew-free. But Australia the geopolitical entity is not. There is an endemic shrew taxon, <i>Crocidura trichura</i>, on Christmas Island. (Or at least there <i>was</i> an endemic shrew there - the Christmas Island shrew might have become recently extinct, alas.)Dartiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-89655719273400837122010-05-18T14:26:39.582+08:002010-05-18T14:26:39.582+08:00Re: "The American and Pacific water shrews, S...Re: "The American and Pacific water shrews, Sorex palustris and S. bendirii, are capable of running short distances across the surface of water due to their small size and hairy feet. "<br />The appropriate response to which is, of course, an exclamation "Jesus Christ!" (I believe the basilisk -- lizard which is able to run across water surface, in part because of a fringe of long scales on its feet -- is called the "Jesucristo" lizard in Mexico)Allen Hazenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05098575774774203097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-33209171790806970602010-05-18T14:11:00.498+08:002010-05-18T14:11:00.498+08:00Nope, Australia is shrew-free.Nope, Australia is shrew-free.Christopher Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11075565866351612441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-52172497835585653362010-05-18T13:43:03.764+08:002010-05-18T13:43:03.764+08:00The Soricidae are a family of small insectivorous ...<i>The Soricidae are a family of small insectivorous mammals found throughout Eurasia, Africa and North America, with a small number of species extending to South America.</i><br /><br />Ah, but do you know if there are also shrews in Australia?Dartiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-11823940530341215182010-05-18T09:47:30.644+08:002010-05-18T09:47:30.644+08:00Iron deposits in enamel have been suggested to str...Iron deposits in enamel have been suggested to strengthen the teeth, and Motta (1987) showed that among butterflyfish species (some of which also possess iron-rich teeth), species with higher iron concentrations fed on harder foods.<br /><br />It still raises the question as to why only some shrews have such deposits (which have been lost in some Soricinae). Also, <a href="http://www.wildwoodtrust.org/files/water-shrew-captive-breeding.pdf" rel="nofollow">this info sheet</a> notes that teeth of <i>Neomys fodiens</i> (water shrew) still wear down pretty quickly despite their iron deposits.<br /><br /><a href="http://shell.cas.usf.edu/motta/Papers%20for%20Website%20Fix/Motta_A%20quantitative%20analysis%20of%20ferric%20iron%20in%20butterflyfish%20teeth.pdf" rel="nofollow">Motta, P. J. 1987</a>. A quantitative analysis of ferric iron in butterflyfish teeth (Chaetodontidae, Perciformes) and the relationship to feeding ecology. <i>Canadian Journal of Zoology</i> 65: 106-112.Christopher Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11075565866351612441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460788270738656369.post-30092608055538202352010-05-18T05:27:03.822+08:002010-05-18T05:27:03.822+08:00Is there any hypothesis/data about the function of...Is there any hypothesis/data about the function of the iron deposition on the teeth?Africa Gomezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03501193251810926737noreply@blogger.com