Black and Rufous Sengi
The black and rufous sengi (Rhynchocyon petersi), or elephant-shrew, is a small African mammal with a flexible, trunk-like snout and long legs. Despite the name, it is not a shrew but a relative of elephants.
The black and rufous sengi (Rhynchocyon petersi), or elephant-shrew, is a small African mammal with a flexible, trunk-like snout and long legs. Despite the name, it is not a shrew but a relative of elephants.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Black and Rufous Sengi in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Evolutionary lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Afrotherian Relatives
Genetics place sengis in the Afrotheria with elephants, hyraxes, manatees and aardvarks. They are an example of how appearance can mislead taxonomy. See Aardvark.
Running Trails
Sengis clear a network of trails in the leaf litter and run along them, which allows them to escape from predators at high speed. The animal uses its snout to probe for insects and worms.
Monogamous Pairs
Pairs defend a territory together, and the female bears one or two young. Habitat loss in the coastal forests of East Africa threatens the species.
Black and Rufous Sengi at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Rhynchocyon petersi |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Superorder | Afrotheria |
| Order | Macroscelidea |
| Family | Macroscelididae |
| Field Guide group | Evolutionary Oddities (Unique & Disputed Lineages) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Forest-floor mammal with a long, flexible trunk-like snout, slender stilt-like legs for rapid bounding, and striking glossy black and chestnut-orange pelage. |
| IUCN Red List status | Least Concern (LC), assessed 2016 |
| Order | Macroscelidea |
| Clade | Afrotheria |
See Also
- Aardvark — an afrotherian
- Rock Hyrax — an afrotherian