Since 1821

Natural History Cabinet

IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto

There are about 400 different species in this group. They are, among others, , hedgehogs and shrews. They are the first mammals to develop a placenta and thanks to it, embryonic development completes inside the . It is a great advancement if you compare it with monotremes and .
All the animals belonging to this group are small, and with a long and sharp . They have sharp teeth which they use to perforate a lot of insects' hard carapaces. Moreover, they live on vegetables and . They have an overdeveloped sense of smell and yet a scarce vision; moles are .
Insectivorous have survived successfully since remote times thanks to some defense mechanisms such as having a body covered with quills, hiding underground or being tiny, like moles and , which help them go unnoticed.
Did you know the champ of all digging mammals is the European mole?
The galleries of their burrows can reach a length of 100 .
North African are found in the Canary Islands and were introduced here during the early years of the 20th century. They can be found in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. An endemic species of shrews also lives in the easterly region of the Canary Islands.