#mammal

[mammalianmammals]

Mountain Weasel (Mustela altaica), family Mustelidae, northern India

photograph by Dr. Abhijit Bagui

[vintagewildlife]

Epauletted fruit bats By: Unknown photographer From: Wildlife Fact-File 1990s

[alphynix]

Dinosorex, the "terror shrew", was a genus of eulipotyphlan mammal found across much of Europe for most of the Miocene, ranging from about 23 to 9 million years ago. Part of a family of stem-shrews known as heterosoricids, it was larger than most of its living relatives – probably around 15-20cm long (6-8") – and inhabited subtropical swampy forest environments.

Dinosorex kaelini here was one of the later species in this lineage, living in what is now Switzerland around 12-10.5 million years ago.

It had massive incisor teeth at the front of its jaws and crushing teeth further back, specialized for grabbing, immobilizing, and cracking open prey like hard-shelled invertebrates. Similar to some modern shrews the tips of these teeth were also reinforced with iron in their enamel, which would have given them a striking dark red coloration.

But while Dinosorex was quite abundant and successful during its time, it seems to have had such a specific ecological preference that it couldn't adapt when the climate shifted towards the end of the Miocene. Drier conditions and more open savannas quickly took over, and the terror shrews disappeared along with the lush humid forests they were so dependent on.

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References:

Cailleux, Florentin, et al. "Revision of Dinosorex (Heterosoricidae, Eulipotyphla), with special reference to Slovak and Swiss material." Historical Biology (2025): 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2025.2476116

Furió, Marc, Jerôme Prieto, and Lars W. van den Hoek Ostende. "Three million years of “Terror-Shrew”(Dinosorex, Eulipotyphla, Mammalia) in the Miocene of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Barcelona, Spain)." Comptes Rendus Palevol 14.2 (2015): 111-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2014.12.001

Wikipedia contributors. “Dinosorex” Wikipedia, 22 Dec. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosorex

Yuan, Haobo, et al. "The origin and evolution of shrews (Soricidae, Mammalia)." Proceedings B 291.2037 (2024): 20241856. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.1856

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Pudu? :):)

I'll do the Northern Pudu! Not a lot of photos of them out there.

Photos thanks to World Deer & Diana Hunting Tours.

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Jaguar Nesto Artis 3L0A2109 by safi kok

[sitting-on-me-bum]

"Hugs"

By Gigja Einars

“OneShot: Searching for Peace” Special Competition

[critter-creature-or-beast]

The volcano rabbit is officially a critter!

By Annabelle Watts, CC-BY-NC

[bedupolker]

Most bats can actually be sorted into one of four groups. Happy batwatching out there!

(left > right, top > bottom: canyon bat, some sort of generic vesper bat & leaf nosed bat, visored bat & pendlebury roundleaf bat, flying fox)

[mammalianmammals]

Aardwolf (Proteles cristata), juvenile, family Hyaenidae, found in Southern Africa

A species of hyena.

Unlike other hyenas, they feed mainly on termites.

photograph via: Kwando Safaris

[vintagewildlife]

Elephant seals By: Jerry L. Ferrara From: Natural History Magazine 1989

[fucxingcuties]

[revretch]

Average Animal: Uh-oh, it's getting chilly. Guess I have no choice but to move very slowly until it warms up again

Average Mammal/Bird: Haha, not me! I've got my body temperature jacked waaaaay up at all times always. I'm running circles around you, buddy, rain or shine, day or night, summer or winter! Sure, I have to eat every day, multiple times a day just to keep the engine running, but it's not like I can't afford it when I'm this awesome.

Average Animal: So what happens if your body temperature *does* drop?

Average Mammal/Bird: I fucking die

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

Pangolin, please!

Sure! I'll do the Philippine pangolin.

These are also known as the Palawan pangolin and as balintong.

[typhlonectes]

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Jaguar Nesto Artis 3L0A0632 by safi kok

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Hudson Bay Wolf (Canis lupus hudsonicus)

By Wolf Adameit