SHREW  ,' a See also:

• TERM

term applied to the See also:

• SPECIES

species of the See also:

• FAMILY

family Soricidae of the mammalian See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order insectivora (q.v.), but in the See also:

• BRITISH

British Isles to the See also:

• COMMON

common and lesser shrews (Sorex araneus and S. minimus) . The common shrew, or, properly, shrew-See also:

• MOUSE

mouse, which in See also:

• ENGLAND
• ENGLAND, THE CHURCH OF

England is by far the commoner of the two, is a small See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal 1 This word, whence comes the participial See also:

• ADJECTIVE (from the Lat. adjectives, added)

adjective " shrewd," astute, originally meant malicious, and, as applied to a woman, still means a vexatious See also:

• SCOLD

scold . From their supposed venomous See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character it was applied to the Soricidae . See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young may be found in the nests; they are naked, See also:

• BLIND, MATHILDE (1841—1896)

blind and toothless at See also:

• BIRTH (a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages from the root of the verb " to bear ")

birth, but soon run about snapping at everything within reach . The alpine shrew (S. alpinus), restricted to the alpine region of Central See also:

• EUROPE

Europe, is slightly longer than the common shrew and differs in its longer tail, which exceeds the length of the See also:

• HEAD (in 0. Eng. heafad; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Dutch hoofd, Ger. Haupt, generally taken to be in origin connected with Lat. caput, Gr. KerbOvi7)
• HEAD, SIR EDMUND WALKER, BART
• HEAD, SIR FRANCIS BOND, BART

head and See also:

• BODY

body, in the See also:

• COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour of the See also:

• FUR (connected with O. Fr. forre, a sheath or case; so " an outer covering ")

fur, which is dark on both surfaces, and in the large See also:

• SIZE

size of the upper antepenultimate premolar . The See also:

• WATER

water-shrew (Neomys fodiens), the third species inhabiting England, differs from the common shrew in being larger with a shorter and broader muzzle, smaller eyes and larger feet adapted for See also:

• SWIMMING (from " swim," A.S. swimman, the root being common in Teutonic languages)

swimming—the sides of the feet and toes being provided with See also:

• COMB (a word common in various forms to Teut. languages, cf. Ger. Kamm, the Indo-Europ. origin of which is seen in yoµros, a peg or pin, and Sanskrit, gambhas, a tooth)

comb-like fringes of stiff hairs . The tail is longer than the body, and has a fringe of moderately See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long regularly ranged hairs, which extend along the See also:

• MIDDLE

middle of the under See also:

• SURFACE

surface from the end of the basal third to the extremity . The fur is long and dense, varying in colour in different individuals; the prevailing shades are dark, almost See also:

• BLACK
• BLACK, ADAM (1784-1874)
• BLACK, JEREMIAH SULLIVAN (1810–1883)
• BLACK, WILLIAM (1841-1898)

black, See also:

• BROWN
• BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-181o)
• BROWN, FORD MADOX (1821-1893)
• BROWN, FRANCIS (1849- )
• BROWN, GEORGE (1818-188o)
• BROWN, HENRY KIRKE (1814-1886)
• BROWN, JACOB (1775–1828)
• BROWN, JOHN (1715–1766)
• BROWN, JOHN (1722-1787)
• BROWN, JOHN (1735–1788)
• BROWN, JOHN (1784–1858)
• BROWN, JOHN (1800-1859)
• BROWN, JOHN (1810—1882)
• BROWN, JOHN GEORGE (1831— )
• BROWN, ROBERT (1773-1858)
• BROWN, SAMUEL MORISON (1817—1856)
• BROWN, SIR GEORGE (1790-1865)
• BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896)
• BROWN, SIR WILLIAM, BART
• BROWN, THOMAS (1663-1704)
• BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820)
• BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897)
• BROWN, WILLIAM LAURENCE (1755–1830)

brown above, beneath more or less See also:

• BRIGHT, JOHN (1811-188g)
• BRIGHT, SIR CHARLES TILSTON

bright ashy tinged with yellowish; but occasionally we find individuals with the under surface dark-coloured . In the number and shape of the See also:

• TEETH (O.E. Eel); plural of tooth, O.E. top)

teeth the water-shrew differs from the common shrew: there is a premolar less on each See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side above; the bases of the teeth are more prolonged posteriorly; and their cusps are less stained brown, so that in old individuals they often appear See also:

• WHITE
• WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
• WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
• WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
• WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
• WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
• WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
• WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
• WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
• WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
• WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
• WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)

white . This species is aquatic in habits, swimming and diving with agility . It frequents See also:

• RIVERS
• RIVERS, ANTHONY WOODVILLE, or WYDEVILLE, 2ND EARL (c. 1442—1483)
• RIVERS, EARL
• RIVERS, RICHARD SAVAGE, 4TH EARL (c. 1660—1712)

rivers and lakes, making burrows in the See also:

• BANKS, GEORGE LINNAEUS (1821-1881)
• BANKS, NATHANIEL PRENTISS (1816–1894)
• BANKS, SIR JOSEPH
• BANKS, THOMAS (1735-1805)

banks, from which when disturbed it escapes into the water . Its See also:

• FOOD
• FOOD (like the verb " to feed," from a Teutonic root, whence O. Eng. foda; cf. " fodder "; connected with Gr. lrareicOae, to feed)

food consists of water See also:

• INSECTS

insects and their larvae, small crustaceans and probably the See also:

• FRY
• FRY, ELIZABETH (178o-1845)
• FRY, SIR EDWARD (1827– )

fry of small fishes .

It is generally distributed throughout England, is less common in See also:

• SCOTLAND
• SCOTLAND, CHURCH OF
• SCOTLAND, EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF

Scotland and not recorded in See also:

• IRELAND
• IRELAND, CHURCH
• IRELAND, CHURCH OF
• IRELAND, JOHN (1761-1842)
• IRELAND, JOHN (1838- )
• IRELAND, WILLIAM HENRY (1777-1835)

Ireland . The See also:

• GEOGRAPHICAL

geographical range of the common shrew is wide, extending eastwards through Europe and See also:

• ASIA

Asia to Amurland . The lesser shrew extends through Europe and Asia to See also:

• SAKHALIN, or SAGHALIEN

Sakhalin See also:

• ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

Island; and specimens of the water-shrew have been brought from different parts of Europe and Asia as far See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

east as the See also:

• ALTAI (in Mongolian Altain-ula, the " Mountains of Gold ")

Altai . In See also:

• SIBERIA

Siberia the common shrew is abundant in the See also:

• SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

snow-clad wastes about the Olenek See also:

• RIVER

river within the See also:

• ARCTIC (Gr. "ApKroc, the Bear, the northern constellation of Ursa Major)

arctic circle . Other species of red-toothed shrews are restricted chiefly to See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

North See also:

• AMERICA

America, where they are found in greater variety than in the Old See also:

• WORLD

World, though Neomys is not represented . Its See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place is taken by Sorex palusiris east of the Rocky Mountains, and S. hydrodromus in Unalaska Island, which, like the water-shrew, have fringes of See also:

• HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

hair on the feet, but the unfringed tail and dentition of the common shrew . Of the See also:

• AMERICAN

American forms S. bendiri is the largest . Other red-toothed shrews belonging to the genus Blarina, distinguished from Sorex by the dentition and the shortness of the tail, are common in North America . All red-toothed shrews (except the aquatic forms) closely resemble one another,in habits, but the See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short-tailed North American shrew supplements its insectivorous fare by feeding on See also:

• BEECH

beech nuts . In destroying See also:

• NUMBERS, BOOK OF
• NUMBERS, PARTITION OF

numbers of slugs, insects and larvae, shrews aid the See also:

• FARMER, RICHARD (1735–1787)

farmer and merit See also:

• PROTECTION

protection . Although their odour renders them safe from rapacious animals, they are destroyed in numbers by owls . (G .

E .