The clade Afrosoricida contains the golden moles of Southern Africa, the otter shrews of equatorial Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar. These three groups of small mammals were for most of the 19th and 20th centuries regarded as a part of the Insectivora or Lipotyphla. Both groups, as traditionally used, are polyphyletic.
Tenrecomorpha is the suborder of otter shrews and tenrecs, a group of afrotherian mammals indigenous to equatorial Africa and Madagascar, respectively. The two families are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago. Potamogalid otter shrews were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae. The suborder is also presumed to contain the extinct genus Plesiorycteropus, a group of possibly fossorial insectivores similar to aardvarks, which is known to be more closely related to tenrecs of subfamily Tenrecinae than to golden moles of suborder Chrysochloridea.
A tenrec is any species of mammal within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae, which is endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are a very diverse group; as a result of convergent evolution some resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, rats, and mice. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial, and fossorial environments. Some of these species including the greater hedgehog tenrec, can be found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. However, the speciation rate in this group has been higher in humid forests.
The web-footed tenrec, Malagasy otter shrew, or aquatic tenrec is the only known semiaquatic tenrec, and is found in eastern Madagascar, especially in and around Ranomafana National Park. It grows to between 25 and 39 cm, and was once thought to be extinct. It feeds on crabs, aquatic insects, and crayfish. The population is considered vulnerable. It was formerly placed in the monotypic genus Limnogale, but has been moved to Microgale based on molecular data showing it to be deeply nested within the latter.
The lowland streaked tenrec is a small tenrec found in Madagascar. It belongs to the family Tenrecidae in the order Afrosoricida, and more specifically to the subfamily of the spiny tenrecs Tenrecinae. Its natural habitats are in tropical lowland rain forests in northern and eastern parts of Madagascar.
The Nimba otter shrew is a dwarf otter shrew and belongs to the mammal family Potamogalidae. Otter shrews are shrew-like afrotherian mammals found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar. This species belongs to the genus Micropotamogale, literally meaning "tiny river weasel". It is native to the Mount Nimba area which rests along the border of Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa.
The large-eared tenrec is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Geogale, and the only member of the subfamily Geogalinae. It is endemic to Madagascar where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss, but to a lesser extent than was previously thought and is listed by the IUCN as being of "Least Concern".
Microgale is a genus of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. There are 21 living species on the island of Madagascar and one extinct species known from a fossil. Some species have been discovered in the last twenty years.
Dobson's shrew tenrec is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist forests, plantations, and heavily degraded former forest. On the basis of molecular data indicating that it and Talazac's shrew tenrec form a sister group to the rest of Microgale, these two species were transferred from Microgale to Nesogale in 2016.
The dryad shrew tenrec, also known as the tree shrew tenrec, is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The pale shrew tenrec, also known as the pale-footed shrew tenrec is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical and tropical moist lowland and montane forests.
Jenkins's shrew tenrec is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Talazac's shrew tenrec is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist forests. On the basis of molecular data indicating that it and Dobson's shrew tenrec form a sister group to the rest of Microgale, these two species were transferred from Microgale to Nesogale in 2016.
The Ruwenzori otter shrew is a species of semiaquatic dwarf otter shrew of the family Potamogalidae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Otter shrews are shrew-like afrotherian mammals found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar.
Rice tenrecs are the two species in the Malagasy genus Oryzorictes. They are mammals in the family Tenrecidae. It contains the following species:
The four-toed rice tenrec is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical shrubland, grassland, and moist forests, and swamps.
The northern shrew tenrec is a species of mammal in the family Tenrecidae. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it has a restricted disjoint range in two locations 485 km apart in the north and east of the island. In the north, it is found on the southwestern slopes of the Tsaratanana Massif at elevations from 1420 to 1680 m. In central eastern Madagascar, it is found in the Ambatovy Forest. Its natural habitat is montane forest. The species is most closely related to the widely distributed M. cowani. This tenrec is threatened by deforestation from agricultural conversion, lumbering and mining.
Oryzorictinae is a subfamily of tenrecs endemic to the island of Madagascar. It is the largest of three tenrec subfamilies. Oryzorictinae is thought to have split from the lineage of its closest relative, Geogale, about 30 million years (Ma) ago. The deepest phylogenetic split within the subfamily, that between Oryzorictes and a clade composed of Microgale plus Nesogale, is thought to have occurred about 28 Ma ago. In turn, Microgale and Nesogale are thought to have diverged about 19 Ma ago.
Tenrecinae is a tenrec subfamily endemic to the island of Madagascar. It contains the largest species in the family, Tenrec ecaudatus. All members of the genus possess spines, analogous to those of hedgehogs, for defense against predators.
