Shrews it or lose it: a critter's
incredible shrinking skull
Send a link to a friend
[October 25, 2017]
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It is not the taming
of the shrew, but rather the shrinking of the shrew.
Scientists this week described one of nature's most intriguing
phenomena, the shrinkage of the skull and body of a type of shrew as
lean winter months approach and the subsequent regrowth of the critters
for the flowering of spring.
This exotic trait of the common shrew, a tiny insect-eating mammal
inhabiting central and north Europe and a large part of Asia, was first
noted in the 1940s but no previous research had studied changes in
individual shrews.
The scientists periodically caught, measured and X-rayed wild shrews
near the German village of Möggingen.

Individual shrews shrank their braincase by up to 20 percent -- 15
percent on average -- from summer to winter, then in the spring regrew
by up to 13 percent -- 9 percent on average, not quite returning to
their original size. Body mass also decreased by winter and then
increased in spring. Wild shrews live about 13-15 months and never
regain their previous size.
"In these extremely high metabolic animals, reducing body mass during
winter, a period of resource scarcity, might increase their survival
chances, as this would reduce food requirements," said evolutionary
biologist Javier Lázaro Tapia of the Max Planck Institute for
Ornithology in Germany.
"And reducing brain size, as well as other tissues, might save energy as
the brain tissues are energetically so expensive. In other words, we are
observing a wintering adaptation in terms of energy saving, an
alternative strategy for a non-migratory and non-hibernating species."
[to top of second column] |

A common shrew or Sorex araneus is shown in this September 27, 2008
handout photo. Courtesy of Karol Zub/Handout via REUTERS

Common shrews, whose favorite meal is earthworms, are very active,
and must eat constantly to supply their ravenous metabolism. They
are territorial and solitary, starting fierce fights when meeting
other shrews, and tolerate each other only during breeding season.
Regarding the biological mechanisms behind the shrinking and
regrowth, Lázaro said braincase shrinkage is probably achieved by a
resorption of tissue at the cranial sutures, joints between skull
bones, with a regeneration of bone tissue during the regrowth phase.
"If we think of our own skull and imagine it changing in size by 20
percent, this is astounding and unimaginable," Lázaro said. "This
image is what we want the reader to take home: how flexible
seemingly rigid structures can be if evolution warrants it, making
this tiny high-power engine of an animal so successful."
The research was published on Monday in the journal Current Biology.
(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |