Cape elephant shrew

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Cape elephant shrew
Macroscelides edwardii - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - UBA01 IZ20900065 2.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Macroscelidea
Family: Macroscelididae
Genus: Elephantulus
Species:
E. edwardii
Binomial name
Elephantulus edwardii
(A. Smith, 1839)
Cape Elephant Shrew area.png
Cape elephant shrew range
Synonyms [2]
  • Elephantulus capensisRoberts, 1924
  • Elephantulus edwardsii(Sclater, 1901)
  • Elephantulus karoensisRoberts, 1938

The Cape elephant shrew (Elephantulus edwardii), [2] [3] also known as the Cape rock elephant-shrew [1] [4] or Cape rock sengi, [1] 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. [1] Elephant shrews are not closely related to true shrews, nor to rodents such as mice. [3] E. edwardii has been observed to be a non-flying mammal pollinator of the pagoda lily ( Massonia bifolia ). Elephant shrews are floral pollinators due to their largely insectivorous diet. [5] Elephant-shrews are pollinators of Hyobanche atropurpurea. [6] It uses its long slender tongue to feed on the pagoda lily's nectar while getting the lily's pollen on its long nose. [4] E. edwardii is also a pollinator of Protea sulphurea . [7]

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">Zoophily</span> Pollination by animals

Zoophily, or zoogamy, is a form of pollination whereby pollen is transferred by animals, usually by invertebrates but in some cases vertebrates, particularly birds and bats, but also by other animals. Zoophilous species frequently have evolved mechanisms to make themselves more appealing to the particular type of pollinator, e.g. brightly colored or scented flowers, nectar, and appealing shapes and patterns. These plant-animal relationships are often mutually beneficial because of the food source provided in exchange for pollination.

<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.

<i>Elephantulus</i> Genus of mammals

Elephantulus is a genus of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. It contains the following species:

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

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.

<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">Eastern rock elephant shrew</span> Species of mammal

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.

<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.

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

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.

<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">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>Protea recondita</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea recondita, also known as the hidden sugarbush, is a flowering plant of the genus Protea within the family Proteaceae, which is endemic to the Cape Region of South Africa, and distributed from the Piketberg and Cederberg to the Groot Winterhoek mountains. The flowers of this unusual plant are pollinated by non-flying mammals: rodents and elephant shrews. In the Afrikaans language it is known as gesigtoehouprotea or skaamroos.

<i>Galegeeska</i> Genus of elephant shrew

Galegeeska is a genus of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rathbun, G.B.; Smit-Robinson, H. (2015). "Elephantulus edwardii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T7136A21290344. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T7136A21290344.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Schlitter, D.A. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 82. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  3. 1 2 Jiang, Jin-Qing; Xia, Xiao-Jing; Wang, Lei; Liu, Chang-Zhong (2018). "Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of cape elephant shrew, Elephantulus edwardii". Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 3 (2): 738–739. doi: 10.1080/23802359.2018.1483759 . PMC   7799720 . PMID   33474305.
  4. 1 2 Petra Wester, "Sticky snack for sengis: The Cape rock elephant-shrew, Elephantulus edwardii (Macroscelidea), as a pollinator of the Pagoda lily, Whiteheadia bifolia (Hyacinthaceae)", Springer-Verlag, November 16, 2010. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  5. Wester, Petra (2011). "Nectar feeding by the Cape rock elephant-shrew Elephantulus edwardii (Macroscelidea) — A primarily insectivorous mammal pollinates the parasite Hyobanche atropurpurea (Orobanchaceae)". Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants. 206 (12): 997–1001. Bibcode:2011FMDFE.206..997W. doi:10.1016/j.flora.2011.05.010.
  6. Wester, Petra (2010). "Sticky snack for sengis: The Cape rock elephant-shrew, Elephantulus edwardii (Macroscelidea), as a pollinator of the Pagoda lily, Whiteheadia bifolia (Hyacinthaceae)". Naturwissenschaften. 97 (12): 1107–1112. Bibcode:2010NW.....97.1107W. doi:10.1007/s00114-010-0723-6. ISSN   0028-1042. PMID   21080154. S2CID   8649184.
  7. Kühn, N., Midgley, J. & Steenhuisen, S.-L. (2017). Reproductive biology of three co-occurring, primarily small-mammal pollinated Protea species (Proteaceae). South African Journal of Botany. 113: 337-345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2017.08.020.