Meet the 'Hero Shrew' that's got a unique spine so strong it can support a fully-grown man



A new species of Hero Shrew with the 'most bizarre mammalian spine on Earth' has been found in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Chicago's Field Museum examined its spine, which has previously baffled evolutionary biologists to suggest that the little creature uses it to lift rocks

The unique interlocking vertebrae of the Hero Shrew render its spine four to five times more robust relative to body mass

A new species of shrew that American scientists say has the 'most bizarre mammalian spine on Earth' has been found in equatorial Africa.

The miniature Hero Shrew was discovered by scientists at Chicago's Field Museum who examined its spine, which has been an enigma to evolutionary biologists.



The interlocking vertebrae of the Hero Shrew render its spine four to five times more robust relative to body mass - a condition not found in any other mammal.

A new species of Hero Shrew that American scientists said has the 'most bizarre mammalian spine on Earth' has been found in equatorial Africa by scientists at Chicago's Field Museum

The new species of the Hero Shrew is named Scutisorex thori and possesses features that might represent intermediate character states between the only other known Hero Shrew species (Scutisorex somereni), and common shrews.



The Hero Shrew was first discovered in 1910 but its most notable feature was not revealed for another seven years, when a specimen was dissected to reveal the most peculiar backbone of any mammal.



It's spine is unique as the lower vertebrae have multiple lateral processes that interlock with the processes of neighboring vertebra.

The arrangement, along with surrounding musculature, affords the animal extraordinary strength, so much so that the Hero Shrew has traditionally been worn as a talisman.

Bill Stanley, Director of Collections and zoologist at the Field Museum, said: 'This shrew first came to light when explorers came to the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.'



'The explorers watched in amazement as a full-grown man stood on the back of the Hero Shrew, and the animal walked away, unharmed.'

The spine of the first species of Hero shrew to be discovered (labelled B) is much stronger than the common shrew's backbone, labelled A

The newly discovered Hero Shrew's spine (pictured) is unique as the lower vertebrae have multiple lateral processes that interlock with the processes of neighboring vertebra. The arrangement, along with surrounding musculature, affords the animal extraordinary strength

Until now, there have been no other species of this bizarre shrew.



The new species described in this study represents a possible intermediate between the original Hero Shrew and other shrews, since is possesses an interlocking spine, but with fewer lower vertebrae and lateral processes than the first Hero Shrew species.

Humans have five lumbar vertebrae as do most other mammals, but the Hero shrew has at least 10.

Mr Stanley said: 'Scutisorex thori has eight vertebrae, and fewer lateral processes than the original species.'

The specimen of the new Hero Shrew was collected in the lowland forest near the Tshuapa River in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In their study published in Biology Letters , the scientists s uggest these shrews position themselves between the trunk and leaf bases of Palms and use their unique spine to exert force and gain access to concentrated sources of beetle larvae that are otherwise protected from predation.



The same adaptation may allow these animals to lift logs or rocks to access invertebrates – a food resource that remains unavailable to many other mammals.



Here are backbones of three types of shew: The standard shrew (A) the original Hero Shrew (B) andthe newly discovered Hero Shrew (C). Scientists believe the new Hero Shrew might lift rocks and logs to find grubs

The specimen of Scutisorex thori now residing at The Field Museum is a holotype, meaning that it will be the standard for identifying other members of the species.



The new species is named in honor of Thorvald 'Thor' Holmes, Jr. of the Humboldt State University Vertebrate Museum, at the suggestion of Bill Stanley, who did his graduate work there.



The suggested common name is 'Thor's Hero Shrew', appropriately invoking Thor, the god of strength in Norse mythology.



Mr Stanley said: 'The Age of Discovery is not over - in fact, discoveries such as these happen in natural history collections, like the ones that we have at The Field Museum.



'In addition, hypotheses such as the one that we've generated concerning the functional significance of the Hero Shrew's spine fuel the scientific machine.



We can't wait to see the results of further scientific studies that test the ideas presented in this article.'



