Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Science Facts: World's Smallest Carnivore

The world's smallest carnivore (order Carnivora) is the least weasel, which can have a body length of just over 10 cm. Its prey includes small rodents, but adult rats and hamsters can usually drive off a least weasel. Pliny the Elder of Ancient Rome wrote that a weasel is the only creature that is able to kill a basilisk.

2 comments:

  1. re Pliny and the basilisk - I have been reading an obscure book by CS Lewis called The Discarded Image, re medieval worldview. Especially interesting is how people of that age picked up fantastic ideas on zoology (Bestiaries) from the ancient writers. Maybe I'll ship you or Joel the book after finishing.

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