New Species of Giant Elephant-Shrew Discovered in Tanzania

A team of scientists recently discovered a new species of the giant elephant shrew in the remote mountains of Tanzania. The grey-faced elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon udzungwensis) is the largest elephant shrew known to science so far (weighing in at about 1.5 lbs), and lives in two populations in a small area of the Ndundulu Forest in the Udzungwa Mountains.

After first sighting the dog-size mammal on camera, Zoologist Francesco Rovero of Italy's Trento Museum of Natural Sciences teamed up with Galen Rathbun of the California Academy of Sciences and other experts; in Tanzania the team confirmed the mammal's relation to the elephant shrew.

The name "elephant shrew" itself is misleading because the mammals bear no relation to the shrew family. But on discovering the species, scientists had assumed that the small, insect-eating mammal was a relative of the shrew, and saw the long, flexible snout as its distinguishing feature--hence the name "elephant shrew." Ironically, science has since shown that the animal is more closely related to the elephant. To avoid confusion, some people now refer to the elephant shrew as sengis, a term derived from the Bantu languages of Africa.

The Udzungwa Mountains are part of a series of ancient mountain ranges stretching from southern Kenya to south Tanzania. The age and isolation of the mountain forests have kept levels of biodiversity high. Other species recently discovered there include the Udzungwa partridge, the Phillips' Congo shrew, the Kipunji monkey, and several amphibians and reptiles. Unless conservation efforts are ramped up, however, scientists expect the few remaining wildlife corridors that connect the mountains to other areas to disappear.

Fast facts about the grey-faced elephant shrew:

Physical features: grey face and a jet-black lower rump, large body size

Diet: eats mostly insects

Sexual behavior: monogamous

Relatives: elephant, sea horses and the aardvark

To read more about the newly discovered species of elephant shrew, click here or visit http://www.wildlifeextra.com/elephant-shrew367.html.

To read about the elephant shrew on AWF's web site, click here.