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 revealed that elephant shrews are not classified with true shrews, but are in fact more closely related to elephants than 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.
The golden-rumped elephant shrew 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.
The black and rufous elephant shrew, the black and rufous sengi, or the Zanj elephant shrew is one of the 17 species of elephant shrew found only in Africa. It is native to the lowland montane and dense forests of Kenya and Tanzania. 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.
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.
Elephantulus is a genus of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It contains the following species:
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 other species of shrews and 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.
The dusky-footed elephant shrew or dusky-footed sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
The dusky elephant shrew or dusky sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
The eastern rock elephant shrew or eastern rock sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is found in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland and rocky areas.
The Somali elephant shrew or Somali sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae.
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.
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.
The western rock elephant shrew or western rock sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It is found in Namibia, South Africa, and possibly Angola and Botswana. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and rocky areas.
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.
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.
Rhynchocyon is a genus of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. Members of this genus are known colloquially as the checkered elephant shrews or giant sengis. It contains the following five species:
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.
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.
Macroscelides flavicaudatus is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae found in the central Namib desert and southern Namibia.
