Shrews may grow bigger snouts in winter to cope with cold air, scientists say

Study of long-clawed shrew skulls from Japan shows that while skulls get smaller in winter, snouts elongate Humans turn to heated blankets and fluffy socks to cope with winter, but long-clawed shrews have a very different adaptation: they increase the size of their snouts.

Researchers have previously discovered that certain small mammals, including the common shrew and European mole , reversibly shrink their body mass, skull size and brain mass in winter, with regrowth seen in the spring – a strategy that has been named Dehnel’s phenomenon.

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