Abstract
A mean thyroid hormone secretion rate (TSR) of 1.61 μg/100 g body wt/day was determined for 26 Asian musk shrews (Suncus murinus) born and raised in captivity. Young females had statistically higher TSR's (1.90 ± 0.17 μg) than old males but the biological significance of this is unknown. The mean TSR of the entire group is not excessive for mammals in this weight class (mean 32.2 g) and is actually less than that of the Missouri Valley mole.The mean t12 of l-T4 in young males and females (15.19 ± 0.98 hr) is significantly shorter than in old males (20.38 ± 0.46 hr) when Tapazole is administered to prevent 131I recycling. An overall mean t12 of 18.08 ± 0.28 hr for 17 shrews does not indicate inordinate thyroid activity when compared with the t12 of laboratory rodents.These data indicate that the thyroid activity, and presumably, the overall metabolic rate of this tropically distributed insectivore species does not justify placing Suncus murinus in a metabolically peculiar category.
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