Black and rufous sengi

Last updated

Black and rufous sengi
Rhynchocyon petersi from side cropped mirror.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Macroscelidea
Family: Macroscelididae
Genus: Rhynchocyon
Species:
R. petersi
Binomial name
Rhynchocyon petersi
Bocage, 1880
Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew area.png
Geographic range

The black and rufous sengi [2] (Rhynchocyon petersi), the black and rufous elephant shrew, [1] or the Zanj elephant shrew [3] is one of the 17 species of elephant shrew found only in Africa. [2] It is native to the lowland montane and dense forests of Kenya and Tanzania. [4] Like other members of the genus Rhynchocyon , it is a relatively large species, with adults averaging about 28 cm (11 in) in length and 450–700 g (16–25 oz) in weight.

Contents

Distribution and habitat

Distribution of Rhynchocyon petersi in the Tanzanian Eastern Arc Mountains. The species is typically limited to small, fragmented forest patches (darker blue) within the mountains (blue). Rhynchocyon petersi (forest patches).png
Distribution of Rhynchocyon petersi in the Tanzanian Eastern Arc Mountains. The species is typically limited to small, fragmented forest patches (darker blue) within the mountains (blue).

The forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains are critical habitats for R. petersi. [5] The Chome Forest Reserve in Tanzania is an isolated, and largely undisturbed, habitat for the shrews. [5] Populations densities in the Chome area are significantly lower than the surrounding areas, home to approximately 2700 R. petersi, and is thought to be the result of restricted migration and illegal human activity. [5] It was once listed by the IUCN Red List as vulnerable, but has since been changed to a status of least concern. [1] However, its numbers are reportedly declining; suffering from severe forest fragmentation and degradation from human expansion. [6]

Diet and behaviour

Young, captive black and rufous sengi foraging. Steppeslurfhondje (8373403401).jpg
Young, captive black and rufous sengi foraging.

It eats insects such as beetles, termites, and centipedes, using its proboscis to dig them from the soil and its tongue to lick them up. [7] Like most elephant shrews, it lives in monogamous pairs, defending hectare-sized territories. [8] [9] It typically builds ground level nests for shelter [9] requiring dry leaf litter [3] often at the base of trees. [5]

Elephant shrews in zoological gardens

Several zoos have begun breeding this elephant shrew, including seven in Europe, [10] such as the Prague and Wrocław zoos, along with four zoos in the United States including the Philadelphia Zoo. For example, two black and rufous sengi males were born on February 4, 2007, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., which no longer keep the species.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant shrew</span> Family of insectivorous mammals

Elephant shrews, also called jumping shrews or sengis, are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea. Their traditional common English name "elephant shrew" comes from a perceived resemblance between their long noses and the trunk of an elephant, and their superficial similarity with shrews in the order Eulipotyphla. However, phylogenetic analysis has revealed that elephant shrews are not properly classified with true shrews, but are in fact more closely related to elephants than to shrews. In 1997, the biologist Jonathan Kingdon proposed that they instead be called "sengis", a term derived from the Bantu languages of Africa, and in 1998, they were classified into the new clade Afrotheria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-rumped sengi</span> Species of mammal

The golden-rumped sengi is a small African mammal. It is the largest species of the elephant shrew family along with its close relative the grey-faced sengi. It is classified as endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Servaline genet</span> Species of carnivore

The servaline genet is a genet species native to Central Africa. As it is widely distributed and considered common, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-snouted elephant shrew</span> Species of mammal

The short-snouted elephant shrew or short-snouted sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is found over a wide area of Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape elephant shrew</span> Species of mammal

The Cape elephant shrew, also known as the Cape rock elephant-shrew or Cape rock sengi, is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is endemic to South Africa, although it is a relatively common animal. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. Elephant shrews are not closely related to true shrews, nor to rodents such as mice. E. edwardii has been observed to be a non-flying mammal pollinator of the pagoda lily. Elephant shrews are floral pollinators due to their largely insectivorous diet. Elephant-shrews are pollinators of Hyobanche atropurpurea. It uses its long slender tongue to feed on the pagoda lily's nectar while getting the lily's pollen on its long nose. E. edwardii is also a pollinator of Protea sulphurea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bushveld elephant shrew</span> Species of mammal

The bushveld elephant shrew or bushveld sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and hot deserts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somali elephant shrew</span> Small animal of northeast Africa

The Somali elephant shrew or Somali sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North African elephant shrew</span> Species of mammal

The North African elephant shrew or North African sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is found in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, and is the only extant afrotherian within its range. The species was formerly classified in the genus Elephantulus, but molecular evidence indicates that it is more closely related to Petrodromus than to other members of Elephantulus. It was moved to a new genus, Petrosaltator, in 2016. The split with Petrodromus likely occurred during the Miocene period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous elephant shrew</span> Species of mammal

The rufous elephant shrew, rufous sengi or East African long-eared elephant-shrew is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. Found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.

<i>Macroscelides proboscideus</i> Species of mammal

The round-eared elephant shrew or round-eared sengi, is a species of elephant shrew (sengi) in the family Macroscelididae. It is found in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and grassland, and hot deserts. They eat insects, shoots, and roots. Their gestation period is 56 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four-toed elephant shrew</span> Species of mammal

The four-toed elephant shrew or four-toed sengi is the only living species in the genus Petrodromus, which together with five other extant genera Rhynchocyon, Macroscelides, Petrosaltator, Galegeeska and Elephantulus constitutes the order Macroscelidea. This species is only found in particular regions in Africa and is smaller than its relatives. A comprehensive record of this species is lacking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chequered sengi</span> Species of mammal

The Chequered sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. The scientific name is Rhynchocyon cirnei.

<i>Rhynchocyon</i> Genus of mammals

Rhynchocyon is a genus of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. Members of this genus are known colloquially as giant sengis. They are a ground-dwelling mammal, significantly larger than their relatives in the order Macroscelidea that live primarily in dense forests across eastern Africa. Habitats range from eastern Africa's coastal forests, Rift Valley highlands, and the Congo basin. The species is widely threatened, with two of four assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. Habitat fragmentation from the growth of human settlements and activities are the primary threats to their populations. The genus contains the following five species and several subspecies:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-faced sengi</span> Species of elephant shrew

The grey-faced sengi is a species of elephant shrew that is endemic to the Udzungwa Mountains of south-central Tanzania. The discovery of the species was announced in January 2008; only 15 species of elephant shrew were known until then, and the last discovery was made more than 120 years ago. As the name implies, the species is characterised by a distinctive grey face and a black rump, as well as being larger than the other species of elephant shrews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karoo rock elephant shrew</span> Species of mammal

The Karoo rock elephant shrew or Karoo rock sengi is an elephant shrew in the genus Elephantulus. It is found in Northern Cape Province and Western Cape Province in South Africa.

<i>Macroscelides flavicaudatus</i> Species of mammal

Macroscelides flavicaudatus is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae found in the central Namib desert and southern Namibia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuhlmann's sengi</span> Species of elephant shrew living in Africa

The Stuhlmann's sengi or white-tailed sengi is a species of elephant shrew that lives in the forests and savannas of Africa. It was discovered in 1893 and declared a new species. In the 1960s, however, it was downgraded to a subspecies of checkered sengi. In 2018, following genetic tests, scientists re-evaluated the mammal as a full species again.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hoffmann, M.; Burgess, N.; Rovero, F. (2016). "Rhynchocyon petersi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T19708A21286959. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T19708A21286959.en . Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Schlitter, D.A. (2005). "Order Macroscelidea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 85. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. 1 2 Norbert J. Cordeiro; Nathalie Seddon; David R. Capper; Jonathan M. M. Ekstrom; Kim M. Howell; Isabel S. Isherwood; Charles A. M. Msuya; Jonas T. Mushi; Andrew W. Perkin; Robert G. Pople & William T. Stanley (2005), "Notes on the ecology and status of some forest mammals in four Eastern Arc Mountains", Journal of East African Natural History, 94 (1): 175–189, doi:10.2982/0012-8317(2005)94[175:noteas]2.0.co;2, S2CID   85816994
  4. G. Rathbun. (1984). Elephant-shrews, Order Macroscelidea. In : MacDonald (ed), The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Facts on File Publications, New York: 730–735.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Stephanie Coster & David O. Ribble (2005), "Density and cover preferences of Black-and-rufous elephant-shrews (Rhynchocyon petersi) in Chome Forest Reserve, Tanzania", Belgian Journal of Zoology, 135: 175–177
  6. M. Hoffmann, N. Burgess, and F. Rovero. (2016). Rhynchocyon petersi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T19708A21286959. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016- 1.RLTS.T19708A21286959.en
  7. J. Kingdon (1997), The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals, Academic Press, pp. 142–152
  8. C. D. Fitzgibbon & G. B. Rathbun (1994), "Surveying Rhynchocyon elephant-shrews in tropical forest", African Journal of Ecology, 32 (1): 50–57, Bibcode:1994AfJEc..32...50F, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.1994.tb00554.x
  9. 1 2 G. B. Rathbun (1979), "The social structure and ecology of elephant-shrews", Journal of Comparative Ethology, 20: 1–77
  10. https://www.prazskyden.cz/prazska-zoo-ma-noveho-vzacneho-obyvatele-zije-jen-v-nekolika-evropskych-zahradach/ Prague ZOO exhibits new elephant shrews
Skeleton of Rhynchocyon petersi (Museum of Osteology) Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew skeleton.jpg
Skeleton of Rhynchocyon petersi (Museum of Osteology)