The world’s smallest mammal has been rediscovered on an Italian island, decades after it was thought to have become extinct there.
The Etruscan shrew, which weighs less than two grams and has a body length of about 1.5 inches, was believed to have died out on the island of Tavolara, which lies off the coast of Sardinia, 50 years ago.
But the minuscule creature, which is the smallest mammal in the world by mass, has reemerged, having inadvertently benefited from a rat eradication programme.