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Rufous Elephant Shrew — printable fact sheet
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Rufous Elephant Shrew
Elephantulus rufescens
Elephantulus rufescens is not a shrew and is not related to shrews. Elephant shrews, or sengis, belong to Afrotheria, which means their closest relatives are elephants, hyraxes, aardvarks, manatees and golden moles — an African radiation that converged on the shape and habits of…
Did you know?
- Rufous Elephant Shrews can run at speeds of up to 28 kilometers per hour, making them one of the fastest small mammals relative to their size.
- Sengis have a very high metabolic rate and can move at up to 25 km/h in short bursts along their trails, which is extraordinary for an animal weighing under 60 g. Females have a menstrual cycle and a haemochorial placenta, features shared with primates and rare among small mammals, which is one reason they were long a taxonomic puzzle. The pair bond is territorial rather than affectionate — the male drives off male intruders and the female drives off females, and the two spend most of the day apart.
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