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]

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.


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