Detected shrews have the strongest backbone in mammals

At first glance, the backbone of the shrew in Congo is no different in the animal kingdom with interwoven vertebrae making the spine extremely strong and rigid when compressed.

But recently, according to a three-dimensional analysis of bone structure, shrews in Conggo have particularly dense vertebrae, with neat reinforcing struts that increase flexibility.

This structure can provide more insight into how these unique backbones can benefit animals in the wild. Discovered in 2013, Scutisorex thori is one of the two 'heroic' shrews as the locals are known.

The Congo shrew has an extremely strong skeleton.

Even when the Mangbetu people of the Democratic Republic of Congo introduced Western scientists to a small, smoky gray animal, they told stories about how an adult man could Stand on the back of a shrew without hurting it. It was in 1910 and since then, studies have been very concerned about this particular animal.

In 2019, scientists led by Stephanie Smith, a mammal researcher and postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, took a closer look at the skeletons of Congo shrew. The scans show that these tiny creatures have a backbone unlike any other animal on Earth that surprised researchers.

Their vertebrae have thousands of tiny finger-like projections that allow them to lock together while also providing remarkable flexibility. Not only that, their vertebrae show signs of being able to withstand forces greater than normal.

No one knows why the Congo shrew can develop such a special spine. There is a theory that their distinctive spine animals help them separate palm leaves in central African forests to catch the juicy larvae inside. However, according to Smith no one ever recorded they did that.

Congo shrews are actually very difficult to study in their natural habitat. They are small and especially where they live in an area that has endured decades of armed conflict.

Commenting on this discovery, Katrina Jones, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University, said it had long been suspected that these shrews had some activity that caused their backs to be under pressure. They are great, but observing their behavior in the wild is really difficult.

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