Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2014 15:34:06 GMT 5
Southern Grasshopper Mouse - Onychomys torridus
The southern grasshopper mouse lives primarily in the arid deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They are largely carnivorous, making them unique among mice–their diet mainly consisting of insects, like scorpions, beetles, and grasshoppers, as well as other rodents—including other grasshopper mice. Grasshopper mice are extremely aggressive predators, and are known to commit acts of cannibalism when threatened or in need of food. They are generally solitary animals and keep large territories to themselves, but they may live in male-female pairs. However, this live-in relationship tends to end badly—one of the two partners inevitably kills the other.
Average weight: 0.78 ounces. Average Size: 3.5 to 5 inches (head and body); 1 to 2.5 inches (tail)
Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda)
The Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. This shrew has a total length of 108 to 140 mm (4.3 to 5.5 inches), of which 18 to 32 mm (0.7 to 1.3 inches) is tail; and weighs 15 to 30 grams (0.5 to 1.1 ounces). The Northern Short-tailed Shrew exhibits slight sexual dimorphism in size, with the male being slightly larger than the female. The Northern Short-tailed Shrew consumes up to three times its weight in food each day. It eats small quantities of subterranean fungi and seeds, though it is mostly carnivorous. It prefers insects, earthworms, voles, snails, and other shrews for the bulk of the diet, though salamanders and mice are also eaten.
The southern grasshopper mouse lives primarily in the arid deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. They are largely carnivorous, making them unique among mice–their diet mainly consisting of insects, like scorpions, beetles, and grasshoppers, as well as other rodents—including other grasshopper mice. Grasshopper mice are extremely aggressive predators, and are known to commit acts of cannibalism when threatened or in need of food. They are generally solitary animals and keep large territories to themselves, but they may live in male-female pairs. However, this live-in relationship tends to end badly—one of the two partners inevitably kills the other.
Average weight: 0.78 ounces. Average Size: 3.5 to 5 inches (head and body); 1 to 2.5 inches (tail)
Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda)
The Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) is the largest shrew in the genus Blarina, and occurs in the northeastern region of North America. It is a semifossorial, highly active and voracious insectivore and is present in a variety of habitats. It is notable in that it is one of the few venomous mammals. This shrew has a total length of 108 to 140 mm (4.3 to 5.5 inches), of which 18 to 32 mm (0.7 to 1.3 inches) is tail; and weighs 15 to 30 grams (0.5 to 1.1 ounces). The Northern Short-tailed Shrew exhibits slight sexual dimorphism in size, with the male being slightly larger than the female. The Northern Short-tailed Shrew consumes up to three times its weight in food each day. It eats small quantities of subterranean fungi and seeds, though it is mostly carnivorous. It prefers insects, earthworms, voles, snails, and other shrews for the bulk of the diet, though salamanders and mice are also eaten.