Small-minded? Shrews shrink their skulls to survive winter, study shows

The animals reduce the size of their brains and skulls as winter approaches and regrow them in the spring, say researchersThey use echolocation to explore their habitat and produce an unpleasant scent to avoid being eaten by cats. But the common shrew has another survival trick: as winter approaches, its skull shrinks and then regrows in the spring. Dubbed "Dehnel's phenomenon" after the scientist who first spotted the effect, the shrinkage has previously been studied by looking at the skulls of shrews that died at different times of year. Continue reading...