#neomys fodiens

[animalids]

Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens)

Photo by Josef Lubomir Hlasek

[ash3]

[animal-lover94]

Eurasian Water Shrew

Neomys fodiens

Countries: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakstan, North Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Interesting facts: 🔔 It lives close to freshwater, hunting aquatic prey in the water and nearby.

🔔 It has venomous saliva, although it is not able to puncture the skin of large animals, nor that of humans.

🔔 The sharp, mostly white teeth are tipped with red. The rusty colour comes from deposits of iron which serve to harden the enamel.

[podartists]

Musaraneas

Biodiversity Heritage Library | Flickr | CC BY 2.0

[cool-critters]

Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens)

The Eurasian water shrew is a relatively large shrew, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, with a tail up to three-quarters as long again. It lives close to fresh water, hunting aquatic prey in the water and nearby. Its fur traps bubbles of air in the water which greatly aids its buoyancy, but requires it to anchor itself to remain underwater for more than the briefest of dives. Like many shrews, the water shrew has venomous saliva, making it one of the few venomous mammals, although it is not able to puncture the skin of large animals such as humans. Highly territorial, it lives a solitary life and is found throughout the northern part of Europe and Asia, from Britain to Korea. The Eurasian water shrew is active both night and day. photo credits: itsnature, bioweb