Presentation - mammals - order insectivores. Order Insectivorous mammals

Insectivores are more archaic placentals that existed already in the Eocene. They have well developed jaws and muscles for chewing. The main food of insectivores, according to the name, are insects, centipedes and worms. The most common representatives of insectivores are the family of hedgehogs and others.

Hedgehogs range in size from the smallest to the largest in the order. Body length from 10 to 44 cm (hymnura); tail length from 1 to 21 cm. The weight of the hymnura can reach 1.5 kg. The muzzle is elongated and pointed. The eyes and auricles are relatively well developed. Limbs plantigrade, 5-fingered; the exception is the four-toed African hedgehog, which has 4 fingers on its hind limbs. Hedgehogs are inhabitants of forests, steppes, deserts and cultivated landscapes. They settle under the roots of trees, in dense shrubs, under stones, dig holes. Mostly omnivores, but prefer animal food: invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles (hedgehogs are famous for their endurance to snake venom), carrion. They are predominantly terrestrial animals, but many species are good climbers and swimmers. There are 12 breeding seasons throughout the year; outside of their hedgehogs lead a solitary lifestyle. Pregnancy lasts from 34 to 58 days; cubs in a litter from 1 to 7. Common hedgehog.

Mole ordinary Moles are small and medium-sized insectivorous: body length from 5 to 21 cm; weight from 9 to 170 g. They (except for shrew moles living on the surface) are adapted to an underground, burrowing lifestyle. Their body is elongated, rounded, covered with thick, even, velvety fur. The mole coat has unique property its pile grows straight, and is not oriented in a certain direction. This allows the mole to easily move underground in any direction, the pile lies freely both forward and backward. The color of the mole is monophonic, black, black-brown or dark gray. The sense of smell and touch are well developed.

Shrew shrew These are small animals that look like mice, but with a muzzle elongated in the form of a proboscis. Shrews include the smallest mammals: a tiny shrew and a baby many-tooth, their body length is 3-4 cm, they weigh about 2 g. The largest shrew, a giant many-tooth, weighs only 200 g with a body length of 18 cm. front section. The nose is extended into a movable proboscis. The eyes are very small. The limbs are short, 5-fingered. The fur is short, thick, velvety. The tail is very short to very long, exceeding the length of the body.

Desman This is one of the largest insectivores of Northern Eurasia: body length is cm, tail is cm, weight is g. Solid build. The neck is almost invisible from the outside. The head is conical, with a long movable nose-proboscis. The eyes are rudimentary, about the size of a pinhead, and have well-developed eyelids. There is no outer ear, the auditory openings (slits about 1 cm long) close when diving. The nasal openings are also closed with a special valve in the nasal cavity. Vibrissae very long; sensitive hairs grow on the body. The limbs are rather short, 5-toed, the hind feet are larger and wider than the front ones. The fingers to the claws are united by a swimming membrane. Nails well developed, long, slightly curved. Along the edges of all paws there is a border of stiff bristly hair, which increases the swimming surface of the paws.

Haitian flint tooth These are relatively large animals for insectivorous animals: body length 2832 cm, tail 17.525.5 cm, weight up to 1 kg. Outwardly, they resemble rats or large shrews on high legs. The body is dense. The body is covered with reddish-brown or black fur. The tail is almost naked, scaly. The muzzle is narrow, elongated into a proboscis, hairless at the end; the nostrils open on the sides of the snout. The eyes are small. The ears are partially hairless. Fingers on all limbs 5; they are equipped with claws, which are longer and stronger on the front legs.

Common shrew. Medium-sized mammals with a long tail and large hind legs. The common shrew reaches a length of 5582 mm and weighs 416 g. Tail length 6075 mm, foot length mm. The coloration is dark brown above the body, sometimes almost black-brown, the bottom is lighter in color. Juveniles are somewhat lighter, brown in color. The tail is covered with short hairs or hairless, approximately equal in length to the body. Auricle for the most part or completely hidden by fur. The muzzle is extended forward and narrowed. Life expectancy is about 23 months.

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Order Insectivorous mammals

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Insectivores are more archaic placentals that existed already in the Eocene. They have well developed jaws and muscles for chewing. The main food of insectivores, according to the name, are insects, centipedes and worms. The most common representatives of insectivores are the family of hedgehogs and others.

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Hedgehogs range in size from the smallest to the largest in the order. Body length from 10 to 44 cm (hymnura); tail length from 1 to 21 cm. The weight of the hymnura can reach 1.5 kg. The muzzle is elongated and pointed. The eyes and auricles are relatively well developed. Limbs plantigrade, 5-fingered; the exception is the four-toed African hedgehog, which has 4 fingers on its hind limbs.

Hedgehogs are inhabitants of forests, steppes, deserts and cultivated landscapes. They settle under the roots of trees, in dense shrubs, under stones, dig holes. Mostly omnivorous, but prefer animal food: invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles (hedgehogs are famous for their endurance to snake venom), carrion. They are predominantly terrestrial animals, but many species are good climbers and swimmers. During the year 1-2 breeding seasons; outside of their hedgehogs lead a solitary lifestyle. Pregnancy lasts from 34 to 58 days; cubs in a litter from 1 to 7.

Common hedgehog.

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common mole

Moles are small and medium-sized insectivorous: body length from 5 to 21 cm; weight from 9 to 170 g. They (except for shrew moles living on the surface) are adapted to an underground, burrowing lifestyle. Their body is elongated, rounded, covered with thick, even, velvety fur. The mole coat has a unique property - its pile grows straight, and is not oriented in a certain direction. This allows the mole to easily move underground in any direction - the pile lies freely both forward and backward. The color of the mole is monophonic, black, black-brown or dark gray. The sense of smell and touch are well developed.

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shrew shrew

These are small animals that look like mice, but with a muzzle elongated in the form of a proboscis. Shrews include the smallest mammals: a tiny shrew and a baby polytooth - their body length is 3-4 cm, they weigh about 2 g. The largest shrew, a giant polytooth, weighs only 200 g with a body length of 18 cm. with an elongated face. The nose is extended into a movable proboscis. The eyes are very small. The limbs are short, 5-fingered. The fur is short, thick, velvety. The tail is very short to very long, exceeding the length of the body.

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Muskrat

This is one of the largest insectivores of Northern Eurasia: body length 18-22 cm, tail - 17-21 cm, weight 380-520 g. Solid build. The neck is almost invisible from the outside. The head is conical, with a long movable nose-proboscis. The eyes are rudimentary, about the size of a pinhead, and have well-developed eyelids. There is no outer ear, the auditory openings (slits about 1 cm long) close when diving. The nasal openings are also closed with a special valve in the nasal cavity. Vibrissae very long; sensitive hairs grow on the body. The limbs are rather short, 5-toed, the hind feet are larger and wider than the front ones. The fingers to the claws are united by a swimming membrane. Nails well developed, long, slightly curved. Along the edges of all paws there is a border of stiff bristly hair, which increases the swimming surface of the paws.

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Haitian flint tooth

These are relatively large for insectivorous animals: body length 28-32 cm, tail 17.5-25.5 cm, weight up to 1 kg. Outwardly, they resemble rats or large shrews on high legs. The body is dense. The body is covered with reddish-brown or black fur. The tail is almost naked, scaly. The muzzle is narrow, elongated into a proboscis, hairless at the end; the nostrils open on the sides of the snout. The eyes are small. The ears are partially hairless. Fingers on all limbs 5; they are equipped with claws, which are longer and stronger on the front legs.

Fauna of the Nuratau Ridge, South-Eastern Kyzylkum and the Aydar-Arnasay Lake System

Appearance.

A small animal 12-20 cm long and weighing an average of about 300 g. The back is densely covered with spines, which serve as protection from predators. The needles are variegated: light at the base and at the end, dark in the middle. The ears are long (longer than half of the head, the ear bent forward goes behind the eye). The belly is covered with short soft light hair, on the head the hair has a reddish tint.

• Spreading.
• Inhabits dry steppes, semi-deserts and deserts of Eurasia and North Africa(southern and southeastern regions Russia, Central and Asia Minor, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Northern China, Mongolia, part of India, Egypt).

Lifestyle

It lives in sandy and clay deserts, in the foothills, often found on developed lands and on the outskirts of villages. Active at dusk and at night, during the day it hides in abandoned rodent burrows or its own burrows up to 1-1.5 m long. Eats insects, worms, frogs, snakes (including poisonous ones), lizards, small rodents, eggs and chicks nesting on the ground small birds, fallen fruits

Very mobile, when meeting with large prey (rat, snake), it shows speed and dexterity. In case of danger, it rolls up into a prickly ball. Brings posterity once a year, in the spring. After 4-5 weeks of pregnancy, the female gives birth to 2-8 naked and blind cubs in a hole, which in a few hours become covered with soft needles, and at 1-1.5 months of age become independent. Spends winter in hibernation, wakes up in March-April in spring. The main enemies of the hedgehog in nature are the fox and the owl.

Lifestyle.

Number.

In the region of the Nuratau Ridge and South-Eastern Kyzylkum, it is common, but there are no specific data on the abundance.

Long-spined hedgehog – Hemiechinus hypomelas (Brandt, 1836)

Appearance.

• Look like eared hedgehog, but has larger dimensions (body length up to 27 cm, weight up to 1 kg). The fur is long and soft. The ear is longer than half the length of the head. On the top of the head there is a patch of bare skin (“bald head”), the spines on the head are separated by a wide “parting” (by these signs it can be distinguished from an eared hedgehog). It has two forms of color - dark and light. The dark-colored hedgehogs have gray or dark brown, almost black, hair and dark needles. In the light form, the coat and ears are almost white, the needles are very light, without dark transverse stripes.

Spreading.

• . Plains and foothills of Central and Asia Minor, Kazakhstan, Iran, Afghanistan, India, the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.

Lifestyle.

• It lives in sandy, clay and rocky deserts, foothills and in the lower mountain belt (up to 1400 m above sea level). It leads a nocturnal lifestyle, during the day it hides in rodent burrows, in crevices under stones, in its own burrows and other shelters. Runs faster than other types of hedgehogs.

Lifestyle.

• When defending from an enemy or attacking prey, it can jump up and deliver a lightning bite. In winter, it hibernates, awakening in March-April. Like the eared hedgehog, it breeds once a year, in spring. There are usually 3-4 cubs in a litter. It feeds on insects, worms, rodents, frogs, reptiles, plant foods.

• Number.
• In the region of the Nuratau Ridge and South-Eastern Kyzylkum, it is rare, but there are no specific data on abundance.

Shrew family - Soricidae

Lesser shrew – Crocidura suaveolens (Pallas, 1811)

The smallest mammal in the region of the Nuratau Ridge and South-East Kyzylkum. little animal(less mouse) with long nose and a tail that looks like a vole. Body length 5-7 cm, tail equal to about half the body length (2-4 cm). The coloration is gray, fawn or brownish above, light below. The tail is covered with short fur, from which individual elongated hairs protrude. The teeth are white.

Appearance.

South of Eastern Europe, Caucasus, middle Asia, Kazakhstan, Southern Urals, Far East. In Uzbekistan, it occurs in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya, in the basins of the Syr Darya, Surkhandarya, Zeravshan, Chirchik rivers, in the Ferghana Valley.

Spreading.

Lifestyle.

Dweller of rarefied deciduous forests, forest-steppes, steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. Often settles in fields, gardens and orchards. Leads a terrestrial, partly underground lifestyle. Nests are arranged in grass, soil depressions, under stones, in burrows of small rodents. Shrews do not dig holes themselves, but use the passages of rodents, or tread tunnels in the grass and fallen leaves, and in winter - under the snow. It feeds on insects and their larvae, earthworms, which it takes in the thickness of the forest litter, in the soil and on its surface. Sometimes it eats plant seeds and mushrooms. AT hibernation do not fall.

Lifestyle.

They reproduce throughout the warm period. There are several broods per year, 3-7 (up to 10) cubs in each. Offspring are born in ball-shaped nests of grass, which females arrange in rodent burrows or under stones. When the grown-up cubs leave the nest, they for a long time follow their mother. At the same time, the animals form a chain in which each cub holds firmly with its teeth at the base of the tail of the one in front, and the front cub at the base of the mother's tail. This interesting feature The life of shrews is well shown in the BBC film Mammal Life.

Shrews have a very intensive metabolism, so they have to eat a lot. They eat more in a day than they weigh themselves, and without food they die in a few hours.

In the region of the Nuratau Ridge and South-Eastern Kyzylkum, it is common, but there are no specific data on the number.

Number..

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Members of this group
small animals (length 3.5-40
cm), distributed throughout
continents except Australia and South
America. It's comparatively
primitive group.

Lifestyle

reproduction

Representatives

Tenrek family.

Animal - Russian muskrat

slittooth

Moles

hedgehogs