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Bible Encyclopedias
Shrew
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
or a term applied to the species of the family Soricidae of the mammalian order insectivora, but in the British Isles to the common and lesser shrews (Sorex araneus and S. minimus). The common shrew, or, properly, shrew-mouse, which in England is by far the commoner of the two, is a small animal 1 This word, whence comes the participial adjective "shrewd," astute, originally meant malicious, and, as applied to a woman, still means a vexatious scold. From their supposed venomous character it was applied to the Soricidae.
about the size of a mouse, which it somewhat resembles in the shape of its body, tail and feet. But here the resemblance ends, for, unlike the mouse, it possesses a long and slender muzzle, with prominent nostrils, which project far beyond the lower lip; the small eyes are almost concealed by the fur; the ears are wide, short and provided internally with a pair of deep folds, capable when laid forwards of closing the entrance; the tail, which is slightly shorter than the body, is quadrangular in section and clothed more or less densely with moderately long hairs, terminating in a short tuft, but in old individuals almost naked; the feet are five-toed, the toes terminating in slender, pointed claws. The dentition is very peculiar and characteristic: there are in all thirty-two teeth, tipped with deep crimson; of which twelve belong to the lower jaw; of the remaining twenty ten occupy each side of the upper jaw, and of these the first three are incisors. The first incisor is large, with a long anterior canine-like cusp and a small posterior one; then follow two small single-cusped teeth; which are succeeded by three similar progressively smaller teeth, the first being a canine and the other two premolars; the next, a premolar, is large and multicuspid, and this is followed by three molars, of which the third is small with a triangular crown. In the lower jaw there are anteriorly three teeth corresponding to the seven anterior teeth above, of which the first is almost horizontal in direction, with its upper surface marked by three notches, which receive the points of the three upper front teeth; then follow two small The Common Shrew (Sorex araneus). teeth and three molars. The body is clothed with closely set fur, soft and dense, varying in colour from light reddish to dark brown above; the under surface of both body and tail being greyish; the basal four-fifths of all the hairs above and beneath are dark bluish grey. On each side of the body, about one-third of the distance between the elbow and the knee, is a gland covered by two rows of coarse inbent hairs, which secretes a fluid with an unpleasant cheesy odour, and which is protective, rendering the creature secure against the attacks of predaceous animals.
The lesser or pigmy shrew (S. minutus) is not so abundant in England and Scotland, but common in Ireland, where the other species is unknown. It appears at first sight to be a diminutive variant of that species, which it closely resembles in external form, but the third upper incisor is shorter, or not longer than the next following tooth, whereas in S. araneus it is longer, and the length of the forearm and foot is less in the former species than in the latter.
Both these shrews live in the neighbourhood of woods, making their nests under the roots of trees or in any slight depression, occasionally even in the midst of open fields, inhabiting the disused burrows of field-mice. Owing to their small size, dark colour, rapid movements and nocturnal habits, they easily escape observation. They seek their food, which consists of insects, grubs, worms and slugs, under dead leaves, fallen trees and in grassy places. They are pugnacious, and if two or more are confined together in a limited space they invariably fight fiercely, the fallen becoming the food of the victorious. They are also exceedingly voracious, and soon die if deprived of food; and it is probably to insufficiency of food in the early dry autumnal season that the mortality among them at that time is due. The breeding-season extends from the end of April to the beginning of August, and five to seven, more rarely ten, young may be found in the nests; they are naked, blind and Abbey in 1083. His first wife was Mabel, daughter of the toothless at birth, but soon run about snapping at everything seigneur of Belesme and Alencon; hence his son Robert, who, within reach. after the death of another son, Hugh, succeeded to the earldoms The alpine shrew (S. alpinus), restricted to the alpine region of ' of Shrewsbury and Arundel, was generally known as Robert de Central Europe, is slightly longer than the common shrew and Belesme (q.v.), one of the most celebrated of the feudal nobles differs in its longer tail, which exceeds the length of the head and in the time of Henry I. Robert having been deprived of all his body, in the colour of the fur, which is dark on both surfaces, English estates and honours in 1102, the earldom of Shrewsbury and in the large size of the upper antepenultimate premolar. was next conferred in 1442 on John, 5th baron Talbot, whose The water-shrew (Neomys fodiens), the third species inhabiting descendants have borne the title to the present day. (See England, differs from the common shrew in being larger with a Talbot; and Shrewsbury, Ist Earl Of, below.) shorter and broader muzzle, smaller eyes and larger feet adapted SHREWSBURY, [[Charles (disambiguation)|CHARLES ]], DUKE OF (1660-1718), for swimming - the sides of the feet and toes being provided with only son by his second wife of Francis Talbot, 11th earl of comb-like fringes of stiff hairs. The tail is longer than the body, Shrewsbury, was born on the 24th of July 1660. His mother and has a fringe of moderately long regularly ranged hairs, which was a daughter of Robert Brudenell, 2nd earl of Cardigan, and extend along the middle of the under surface from the end of the the notorious mistress of the 2nd duke of Buckingham, by whom basal third to the extremity. The fur is long and dense, varying his father was killed in a duel in 1668. Charles was a godson of in colour in different individuals; the prevailing shades are King Charles II., after whom he was named, and he was brought dark, almost black, brown above, beneath more or less bright up as a Roman Catholic, but in 1679 under the influence of ashy tinged with yellowish; but occasionally we find individuals Tillotson he became a member of the Church of England. On his with the under surface dark-coloured. In the number and shape father's death in 1668 he succeeded to the. earldom of Shrewsbury; of the teeth the water-shrew differs from the common shrew: he received an appointment in the household of Charles II., and there is a premolar less on each side above; the bases of the teeth served in the army under James II. But in 1687 he was in are more prolonged posteriorly; and their cusps are less stained correspondence with the Prince of Orange, and he was one of the brown, so that in old individuals they often appear white. This seven signatories of the letter of invitation to William in the species is aquatic in habits, swimming and diving with agility. following year. He contributed towards defraying the expenses It frequents rivers and lakes, making burrows in the banks, of the projected invasion, and having crossed to Holland to join from which when disturbed it escapes into the water. Its food William, he landed with him in England in November 1688. consists of water insects and their larvae, small crustaceans Shrewsbury became a secretary of state in the first administraand probably the fry of small fishes. It is generally distributed tion of William and Mary, but he resigned office in 1690 when the throughout England, is less common in Scotland and not tories gained the upper hand in parliament. While in opposition recorded in Ireland. he brought forward the triennial bill, to which the king refused The geographical range of the common shrew is wide, extending assent. In 1694 he again became secretary of state; but there is eastwards through Europe and Asia to Amurland. The lesser some evidence that as early as 1690, when he resigned, he had shrew extends through Europe and Asia to Sakhalin Island; gone over to the Jacobites and was in correspondence with and specimens of the water-shrew have been brought from James at St Germains, though it has been stated on the other different parts of Europe and Asia as far east as the Altai. In hand that these relations were entered upon with William's Siberia the common shrew is abundant in the snow-clad wastes connivance for reasons of policy. However this may be, William about the Olenek river within ' the arctic circle. Other species appears to have had no suspicion of Shrewsbury's loyalty, of red-toothed shrews are restricted chiefly to North America, for on the 30th of April 1694 the latter was created marquess of where they are found in greater variety than in the Old World, Alton and duke of ,Shrewsbury, and he acted as one of the though Neomys is not represented. Its place is taken by Sorex regents during the king's absence from England in the two palustris east of the Rocky Mountains, and S. hydrodromus in following years. In 1696 definite accusations of treason were Unalaska Island, which, like the water-shrew, have fringes of brought against him by Sir John Fenwick, which William himself hair on the feet, but the unfringed tail and dentition of the communicated to Shrewsbury; and about this time the secretary common shrew. Of the American forms S. bendiri is the largest. of state took but a small part in public business, again professing Other red-toothed shrews belonging to the genus Blarina, dishis anxiety to resign. His plea of ill-health was a genuine one, tinguished from Sorex by the dentition and the shortness of the and in 1700 the king reluctantly consented to his retirement into tail, are common in North America. All red-toothed shrews private life.
(except the aquatic forms) closely resemble one another in habits, For the next seven years Shrewsbury lived abroad, chiefly at. but the short-tailed North American shrew supplements its Rome, whence in 1701 he wrote a celebrated letter to Lord insectivorous fare by feeding on beech nuts. In destroying Somers expressing his abhorrence of public life and declaring numbers of slugs, insects and larvae, shrews aid the farmer that if he had a son he "would sooner bind him to a cobbler and merit protection. Although their odour renders them than a courtier, and a hangman than a statesman." On the safe from rapacious animals, they are destroyed in numbers accession of Queen Anne the whig leaders made an ineffectual by owls. (G. E. D.) attempt to persuade Shrewsbury to return to office. When,
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Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Shrew'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/s/shrew.html. 1910.
