insectivoreArticle Free Pass insectivore, the common name
applied to any of 450 or so species of mammals—comprising
hedgehogs, golden moles, “true” moles, “true” shrews, the
moonrat, gymnures, solenodons, and tenrecs—that subsist
primarily on insects, other arthropods, and earthworms.
Insectivora is obsolete as a taxonomic order, but the term
insectivore is still used to refer to the remaining members,
which have been classified into three orders: Soricimorpha,
Erinaceomorpha, and Chrysochloridea. Together these three orders
are called grandorder Lipotyphla by mammalogists, its members
being referred to as either lipotyphlans or insectivores.
Insectivores make up almost 10 percent of all mammal species,
and most are the size of mice or small rats. The white-toothed
pygmy shrew (Suncus etruscus), however, weighs less than 2.5
grams (0.09 ounce) and is perhaps the smallest living mammal.
Other insectivores, such as the moonrat (Echinosorex gymnura)
and the tailless tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus), attain the size of