What is the smallest mammal in the world?
By length and size of skull the smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat weighing 1.7 to 2g and about 29mm long (head to body).
Going by total mass, the Etruscan shrew is the smallest mammal, weighing 1.6 to 2.4g.
Other than these two, here is a summary of the top 10 smallest mammals in the world.
Smallest Mammals in the World
| Name | Weight | Length (Head to body) |
|---|---|---|
| Bumblebee bat | 1.7 to 2g | 29 to 33 mm |
| The Etruscan Shrew | 1.6 to 2.4g | 35 to 50mm |
| Pygmy Jerboa | 7.6 to 12.5g | 53 to 61mm |
| African pygmy mouse | 18 to 20g | 80mm |
| Long-tailed planigale | 4.2 to 4.3g | 5.5 to 6.5cm |
| American Shrew mole | 8 to 14.5g | 10 to 13cm |
| Mountain Pygmy possum | 30 to 60g | 10 to 13cm |
| Least Weasel | 30 to 100g | 165 to 217mm |
| Pygmy Marmoset | 85 to 140g | 12 to 16cm |
| Mouse Lemurs | 60g | 12 to 14cm |
With that summary out of the way, let’s delve into learning a bit more about these small mammals
1. Bumblebee bat
- The bumblebee bat is the smallest mammal in the world (by length and skull size)
- Appearance – Has brownish-red or grey upper body while the underside is darker. They do not have a tail, and have pig-like noses, with large nostrils separated by a wide septum.
- Head to body length – 29 to 33mm
- Weight -1.7 to 2g
- Habit – Limestone caves
- Diet –Carnivores feeding on insects, and spiders
- Lifespan – 5 to 10 years
The bumblebee bat is also known as Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, or the hog-nosed bat. It gets its name from its size, that is of a large bumblebee.
They are mainly found in the Bilauktaung mountain areas in Thailand, and in the south-eastern parts of Myanmar.
2. The Etruscan Shrew
- The Etruscan shrew is the smallest mammal in the world by total mass
- Appearance – Are grayish-brown with short soft hair. They have small eyes, small hind limbs, and whiskers for sensory purposes.
- Head to body length – 35 to 50mm
- Weight – 1.6 to 2.4g
- Habit – Shrub, forests, and grasslands
- Diet – Carnivores feeding mainly on insects, ants, and even mealworms
- Lifespan- 1.5 to 3 years in the wild
The Etruscan Shrew can be found in the Mediterranean lowlands in Europe, and in Asia. They are known to be one of the fastest and most tactile hunters. They can kill prey even in darkness!
3. Pygmy Jerboa
- Appearance – Have soft light grey or beige fur. They have large heads, long whiskers, large eyes, and a broad snout. They also have tails that are twice as long as their bodies.
- Head to body length – 53 to 61mm
- Tail length – 7 to 25cm
- Weight – 7.6 to 12.5g
- Habit – Sandy semi-deserts with dense wormwood cereal vegetation, and ridged mounded sand areas.
- Diet – Omnivores feeding on seeds, grains, nuts. Insects, birds, lizards, and other small rodents.
- Lifespan – 2.5 to 3 years
Pygmy Jerboa comes very close to the bumblebee bat as the smallest mammal. There are about 33 species of pygmy jerboas. They are native to Kazakhstan where they are found in the Northern Aral Sea, and the southern Lake Balkhash areas.
4. African pygmy mouse
- Appearance – They have brownish-red or blue fur as adults while the young ones are dark grey in fur color. They also have small eyes.
- Head to body length – 80mm
- Tail length – 82mm
- Weight – 18 to 20g
- Habit -Rocky habitats in high desert areas.
- Diet – Omnivores feeding on seeds, grains, nuts, insects, and dung.
- Lifespan – 1 to 2 years
The African pygmy mouse is mainly found in sub-Saharan Africa, distributed to Central Africa, Eastern Africa, South Africa, Angola, Namibia, and Swaziland.
5. Long-tailed planigale
- Appearance – Have flat heads, and pointed muzzles. They have grey-brown fur that has a yellow hue.
- Head to body length – 5.5 to 6.5cm
- Weight – 4.2 to 4.3g
- Habit – Clay soil woodlands, grasslands, and black soil plains
- Diet –Carnivores enjoying insect larvae, small invertebrates, grasshoppers, and crickets
- Lifespan – 1.3 years in the wild
They are native to Australia and are mainly found in Mackay and Townsville in Queensland. The long-tailed planigale is also known as northern planigale or Ingram’s planigale.
As the name suggests, they are known for their signature long tails which take up about half the length of their bodies. How interesting is that!
6. American Shrew mole
- Appearance – Have black or blue-black hair. They have forefeet modified for digging, no external ears, small eyes, and a flat elongated nose.
- Head to body length – 10 to 13cm
- Tail length – 25 to 38mm
- Weight – 8 to 14.5g
- Habit – Herbaceous wetland, riparian, scrub-shrub wetland, mixed and grassland forests
- Diet – Omnivores feeding on earthworms, insect larvae, sowbugs, snails, slugs, centipedes, seeds, nuts, and grains
The American shrew mole is scientifically known as Neurotrichus gibbsii. They are also referred to as Gibb’s shrew mole, shrew mole, or the taupe naine.
They are the smallest species of the New World moles. American Shrew moles are mostly found in Santa Cruz County, California, Western Oregon, and Washington. [1]
7. Mountain Pygmy possum
- Appearance –Dense fur that is grey on the back, and creamy colored underneath. Males develop a bright fawn-orange colored fur during the breeding season
- Head to body length – 10 to 13cm
- Tail length – 140 to 148mm
- Weight – 30 to 60g
- Habit – Dense rainforests, wet and dry sclerophyll forests, woodlands, mallee scrub, and coastal heathlands.
- Diet – Omnivores feeding on Bogong moths, insects, fruits, seeds, and berries
- Lifespan- 4 to 7 years
The Mountain pygmy is found in New South Wales and alps of Victoria in Australia.
8. Least Weasel
- Appearance – Has a long tubular body with short limbs. Their fur color changes according to the season, in summer they have short dense brown fur with a light underbelly and white feet. In winter the fur is white with a few black hairs on the tail tip.
- Head to body length – 165 to 217mm
- Tail length –1 to 2 inches
- Weight – 30 to 100g
- Habit – Woodland, sand dunes, urban areas, moors, grassland, mountains, and marshes.
- Diet –Carnivores feeding on birds, lizards, insects, small fish, wood mice, carrion, and bank voles
- Lifespan – 1 to 10 years
The Least weasels are found in North America, specifically in Alaska, Canada, and the areas North of the United States. They have also been seen in North Africa and Asia.
The least weasel is the world’s smallest carnivore that hunts day and night aided by its sharp nails and body.
9. Pygmy Marmoset
- Appearance – Have soft, bushy, silky hair, with tufts of hair on the face and neck similar to lion manes. They have various fur colors such as black, brown, orange, and silver.
- Head to body length – 12 to 16cm
- Tail length – 17 to 23cm
- Weight – 85 to 140g
- Habit – Rainforests, tropical forests, and secondary forests
- Diet – Omnivores feeding on fruits, flowers, nectar, tree sap, insects, and small animals.
- Lifespan – 12 years in the wild and up to 18 years in captivity.
The pygmy marmoset is a New World monkey species. They are mostly found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru.
There are more than 20 species of pygmy marmosets. Pygmy marmosets are also known as ‘’finger monkeys’’ because of how small they are to be wrapped around the fingers.
10. Mouse Lemurs
- Appearance – Some species have brownish-grey coat, while others have red coats with a pale underside.
- Head to body length – 12 to 14cm
- Tail length – 13 to 14.5cm
- Weight – 60g
- Habit – Evergreen forests, dry deciduous forests, mangrove forests, and montane tropical humid forests
- Diet – Omnivores feeding on leaves, flowers, fruits, gum, insects, chameleons, and tree frogs
- Lifespan – 14 to 18 years
Mouse lemurs are native to the island of Madagascar, located off the shores of Africa. [2]
In Latin word lemures means “ghost.” Malagasy people have traditionally associated the mouse lemurs with spirits. This is because they are nocturnal, and probably because of their eerie, large-eyed stare. There are over 20 species of mouse lemurs.
Now you know the smallest mammal in the world by length and size of skull which is the bumblebee bat, was this your guess?
Next read: 21 different types of monkeys
