Pictures and facts about the Elephant shrews

golden-rumped elephant shrew	checkered elephant shrew
black and rufous elephant shrew
Images are copyrighted by their owners

Elephant shrews

Order : Macroscelidea
Family : Macroscelididae
Genus : Rhynchocyon

Facts about the genus Rhynchocyon, the elephant shrews

Some scientists think elephant shrews are related to, well, elephants!

The small insectivorous mammals native to Africa known as elephant shrews are neither elephants nor shrews and, more formally, are the members of the biological order Macroscelidea. (Full text)

In some (constituting the genus Rhyncocyon) the muzzle is so much prolonged as to resemble a See also:PROBOSCISproboscis, whence, the name See also:ELEPHANTelephant-shrews is sometimes applied to the members of the family. (Full text)

This also indicates that the classification of elephant-shrews is not really clarified yet. (Full text)

Another striking feature of short-eared elephant-shrews is their long mobile snout (the "elephant trunk"). (Full text)

Short-eared elephant-shrews are small shrew-like looking animals, which belong to an own order of mammals (Macroscelidea). (Full text)

In some (constituting the genus Rhyncocyon) the muzzle is so much prolonged as to resemble a proboscis, whence the name elephant-shrews is sometimes applied to the members of the family. (Full text)

Four types of giant elephant shrews are found in East Africa and are mainly distinguished by their distinct color patterns; some have contrasting patches of color and others have bold white spots and black stripes. (Full text)

Elephant shrews are terrestrial and are active during the day. (Full text)

The confusion as to which species of Rhynchocyon is found south of the Rufiji River is easily explained by mistaken identification of the VERY similar R. (Full text)

Although Rhynchocyon is difficult to maintain, it has recently been bred in captivity. (Full text)

Taxonomy The 15 living species of elephant-shrews are well-defined, and their taxonomy is considered nearly definitive (Corbet and Hanks 1968, Nicoll and Rathbun 1990). (Full text)

Elephant shrews are found in many habitats, from deserts and dry regions to grasslands and tropical forests. (Full text)

The pregnancy period of elephant shrews is: smaller shrews, 1 12 months and larger shrews, 2 months. (Full text)

Rhynchocyon is the world's largest elephant shrew and eats insects, primarily ants and termites. (Full text)

The majority of Elephant shrews are forest dwellers that often live in burrows, ground depressions, rock crevices, termite mound crevices or under logs. (Full text)

Elephant shrews are endemic to Africa. (Full text)

Rhynchocyon is diurnal in tropical rainforest. (Full text)