Mount Kenya mole shrew | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Eulipotyphla |
Family: | Soricidae |
Genus: | Surdisorex |
Species: | S. polulus |
Binomial name | |
Surdisorex polulus Hollister, 1916 | |
Mount Kenya mole shrew range |
The Mount Kenya mole shrew (Surdisorex polulus) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae endemic to Mount Kenya in Kenya. Its natural habitat is tropical high-elevation bamboo and grassland, [1] particularly the bamboo-belt of Mount Kenya and the adjacent heath and grassland. [2]
The Mt. Kenya mole shrew is listed as vulnerable because it is known to only be found in a single location in highlands of Mount Kenya, though a closely related species, the Aberdare Mole Shrew, can be found on the nearby Aberdare range. [3] The habitat of the species is dense montane grassland. [1]
The bongo is a large, mostly nocturnal, forest-dwelling antelope, native to sub-Saharan Africa. Bongos are characterised by a striking reddish-brown coat, black and white markings, white-yellow stripes, and long slightly spiralled horns. It is the only tragelaphid in which both sexes have horns. Bongos have a complex social interaction and are found in African dense forest mosaics. They are the third-largest antelope in the world.
The bohor reedbuck is an antelope native to central Africa. The animal is placed under the genus Redunca and in the family Bovidae. It was first described by German zoologist and botanist Peter Simon Pallas in 1767. The bohor reedbuck has five subspecies. The head-and-body length of this medium-sized antelope is typically between 100–135 cm (39–53 in). Males reach approximately 75–89 cm (30–35 in) at the shoulder, while females reach 69–76 cm (27–30 in). Males typically weigh 43–65 kg (95–143 lb) and females 35–45 kg (77–99 lb). This sturdily built antelope has a yellow to grayish brown coat. Only the males possess horns which measure about 25–35 cm (9.8–13.8 in) long.
Jackson's mongoose is a mongoose species native to montane forests in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It appears to be rare and has been classified as Near Threatened since 2008.
The black and rufous sengi, the black and rufous elephant shrew, 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 wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in Southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 849 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
Phrynobatrachus keniensis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found widely in the highlands of Kenya. It is also recorded from Mount Meru in northern Tanzania, but this might represent a different species. Common names Kenya River frog and upland puddle frog have been coined for it.
Phrynobatrachus kinangopensis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to the Kenyan Highlands east of the Great Rift Valley. Both the scientific name and its common names, Kinangop river frog and Kinangop puddle frog, refer to its type locality, Mount Kinangop.
Amietia wittei is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania, including Mount Elgon in the Kenya/Uganda border region. Its type locality is in Molo, Kenya, located near the top of the Mau Escarpment. The specific name wittei honours Gaston-François de Witte, a Belgian naturalist.
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:
The greater dwarf shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and dry savanna. It is present in several protected areas, including the Kruger National Park. The main threat to greater dwarf shrews is the loss or degradation of moist, productive areas such as wetlands and rank grasslands within suitable habitat.
The Aberdare mole shrew is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae endemic to the Aberdare Mountains in Kenya. Its natural habitat is tropical high-elevation bamboo and grassland.
Surdisorex is a genus of mammals in the family Soricidae. Surdisorex is one of three genera of African shrews, which, in turn, are one of three living subfamilies of shrews. Species in the genus Surdisorex are called African mole shrews because of their similarity to moles, to which they are not closely related.
According to the current taxonomy, the Myosoricinae are a subfamily of shrews. As such, they form one of three main types of shrews, the other two being the red-toothed shrews and the white-toothed shrews. They are the only one of the three to be found exclusively south of the Sahara Desert, and so they have been described in English as the African shrews, but also many white-toothed shrews are in Africa and therefore this term is more generally used for shrews from Africa in general.
Adolfus alleni, also known commonly as the alpine meadow lizard or the alpine-meadow lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to Kenya.
A mole shrew is a shrew that resembles a mole. Species with this name include:
The East African montane forests is a montane tropical moist forest ecoregion of eastern Africa. The ecoregion comprises several separate areas above 2000 meters in the mountains of South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Carex monostachya is a species of sedge native to the mountains of East Africa.
Represented by a single specimen, the Mount Elgon mole shrew is a species of African mole shrew known to date only from the ericaceous zone of Mount Elgon in Western Kenya. In 1984, a specimen of the genus Surdisorex was collected on a footpath at 3,150 m (10,330 ft) of the Kenyan slope of Mount Elgon. It was described as the third member of the genus Surdisorex by Kerbis Peterhans in 2009. On the basis of skull length measurements, Surdisorex schlitteri is intermediate between S. norae and S. polulus in size. The scientific name honors Duane Schlitter, in recognition of his substantial contributions to the understanding of African small mammals and his longstanding support of Kenyan scientific research. The Mount Elgon mole shrew is listed as "data deficient" because it is only known from a single specimen.