Black and rufous elephant shrew

Black and rufous elephant shrew
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Macroscelidea
Family: Macroscelididae
Genus: Rhynchocyon
Species: R. petersi
Binomial name
Rhynchocyon petersi
Bocage, 1880
range

The black and rufous elephant shrew[2] (Rhynchocyon petersi), or the black and rufous sengi,[1] is one of the 17 species of elephant shrew found only in Africa.[2] 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 (1.0-1.5 lb) in weight. It is native to Kenya and Tanzania. It eats insects (including beetles, termites, and ants) and spiders, supplementing this with fruits and seeds.

Because it is classified as vulnerable, several zoos have begun breeding this elephant shrew, including the Philadelphia Zoo in the United States. Two black and rufous elephant shrew males were born on February 4, 2007, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. They are now kept at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Rathbun, G. B. & T. M. Butynski. 2008. Rhynchocyon petersi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. Downloaded on 04 June 2013.
  2. 1 2 Schlitter, D.A. (2005). "Order Macroscelidea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ↑ Live Elephant Shrews at the Yale Peabody Museum! Peabody Museum of Natural History. Yale University.

Further reading

External links

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