Animal Echolocation - Shrews and Tenrecs

Shrews and Tenrecs

Terrestrial mammals other than bats known to echolocate include two genera (Sorex and Blarina) of shrews and the tenrecs of Madagascar. These include the wandering shrew (Sorex vagrans), the common or Eurasian shrew (Sorex araneus), and the short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda). The nature of shrew sounds unlike those of bats are low amplitude, broadband, multi-harmonic and frequency modulated. They contain no ‘echolocation clicks’ with reverberations and would seem to be used for simple, close range spatial orientation. In contrast to bats, shrews use echolocation only to investigate their habitat rather than additionally to pinpoint food.