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| Shrews Temporal range: Eocene to present | |
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| A southern short-tailed shrew | |
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| Family: | Soricidae |
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Shrews are small mammals which look rather like mice. They were classified in the old Insectivora, but that is no longer used. Now they are classified in the family Soricidae, suborder Soricomorpha.
True shrews are not to be confused with West Indies shrews, treeshrews, otter shrews, or elephant shrews, which belong to different families or orders.
Although its external appearance is generally that of a long-nosed mouse, a shrew is not a rodent, as mice are. In fact it is related to moles. Shrews have sharp, spike-like teeth, not the familiar gnawing front incisor teeth of rodents.
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