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Potamogalidae
Potamogalidae is the family of "otter shrews", a group of semiaquatic riverine afrotherian mammals indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar, from which they are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago. They were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae. All otter shrews are carnivorous, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers, particurally insects. As their common name suggests, they bear a strong, but superficial resemblance to true otters to which they are not closely related, nor are they closely related to true shrews. They move through the water by undulating their tail in a side-to-side motion similar to the motions made by a crocodile swimming. Morphology Otter shrews have small eyes and ears, consistent with the features of nearly all shrews. They have a broad, flat, muzzle that is substantially covered with sensetive whiskers and ends in a leathery pad. The margins o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrosoricida
The order Afrosoricida (a Latin-Greek compound name which means "looking like African shrews") contains the golden moles of Southern Africa, the otter shrews of equatorial Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar. These three families of small mammals have traditionally been considered to be a part of the order Insectivora, and were later included in Lipotyphla after Insectivora was abandoned as a wastebasket taxon, before Lipotyphla was also found to be polyphyletic. Naming Some biologists use Tenrecomorpha as the name for the tenrec-golden mole clade, but Gary Bronner and Paulina Jenkins argue that Afrosoricida is more appropriate, despite their misgivings about the similarity between the name "Afrosoricida" and the unrelated shrew subgenus ''Afrosorex''. However, ''Afrosorex'' Hutterer, 1986 is a synonym of ''Crocidura'' Wagler, 1832, eliminating any confusion. Hedges discussed at length the problems with using Tenrecomorpha and other proposed names for this clade of mammals other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenrecomorpha
Tenrecomorpha is the suborder of otter shrews and tenrecs, a group of afrotherian mammals indigenous to equatorial Africa and Madagascar, respectively. The two families are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago. Potamogalid otter shrews were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae. The suborder is also presumed to contain the extinct genus ''Plesiorycteropus'', a group of possibly fossorial insectivores similar to aardvarks, which is known to be more closely related to tenrecs of subfamily Tenrecinae than to golden moles of suborder Chrysochloridea. Otter shrews are carnivorous and semiaquatic, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers. All tenrecs are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years (Ma) ago after rafting from Africa to Madagascar in a single event. Tenrecs are widely diverse; as a result of convergent evolution they resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums or mice. All tenrecs appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nimba Otter Shrew
The Nimba otter shrew (''Micropotamogale lamottei'') is a dwarf otter shrew and belongs to the mammal family Potamogalidae. Otter shrews are shrew-like afrotherian mammals found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar. This species belongs to the genus ''Micropotamogale'', literally meaning "tiny river weasel". It is native to the Mount Nimba area which rests along the border of Liberia, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in West Africa. Description The Nimba otter shrew is a small-bodied mammal. Weighing only about it has a body length of with a quarter to a third of its body size being its tail. It has been described as a "miniature sea otter with a rat tail". Its pelage is long, hiding its ears and eyes, and almost always universally colored (usually brown, but black and gray otter shrews have been spotted). Evolution and life history The Nimba otter shrew is classified as a member of Potamogalidae, which is related to wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afroinsectiphilia
The Afroinsectiphilia (African insectivores) is a clade that has been proposed based on the results of recent molecular phylogenetic studies. Many of the taxa within it were once regarded as part of the order Insectivora, but Insectivora is now considered to be polyphyletic and obsolete. This proposed classification is based on molecular studies only, and there is no morphological evidence for it. The golden moles, otter shrews and tenrecs are part of this clade. Some also regard the elephant shrews and aardvarks as part of it, although these two orders were traditionally seen as primitive ungulates. The sister group of the Afroinsectiphilia is the Paenungulata, which were also traditionally regarded as ungulates. If the clade of Afrotheria is genuine, then the Afroinsectiphilia are the closest relatives of the Pseudoungulata (here regarded as part of Afroinsectiphilia) and the Paenungulata. In a classification governed by morphological data, both the Pseudoungulata and Paenun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrotheria
Afrotheria ( from Latin ''Afro-'' "of Africa" + ''theria'' "wild beast") is a clade of mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin: golden moles, elephant shrews (also known as sengis), tenrecs, aardvarks, hyraxes, elephants, sea cows, and several extinct clades. Most groups of afrotheres share little or no superficial resemblance, and their similarities have only become known in recent times because of genetics and molecular studies. Many afrothere groups are found mostly or exclusively in Africa, reflecting the fact that Africa was an island continent from the Cretaceous until the early Miocene around 20 million years ago, when Afro-Arabia collided with Eurasia. Because Africa was isolated by water, Laurasian groups of mammals such as insectivores, rodents, lagomorphs, carnivorans and ungulates could not reach Africa for much of the early to mid-Cenozoic. Instead, the niches occupied by those groups on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruwenzori Otter Shrew
The Ruwenzori otter shrew (''Micropotamogale ruwenzorii'') is a species of semiaquatic dwarf otter shrew of the family Potamogalidae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Otter shrews are shrew-like afrotherian mammals found in sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar. Behavior and habitat Ruwenzori otter shrews live in the rivers and streams of various biomes, mostly in forests. They also live at various altitudes, ranging from lowland forests just a few hundred meters above sea level to montane forests over above sea level. Its prey is primarily small animals, such as fish, crabs, worms, insects, and small frogs. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby .... Ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afroinsectivora
Afroinsectivora is a clade of mammals that includes the macroscelideans and afrosoricidans.. Retrieved September 2017. This clade includes the elephant shrews, golden moles and tenrecs. Phylogeny Classification * clade Afroinsectivora ** order Macroscelidea *** Macroscelididae ****Elephant shrew ** order Afrosoricida *** Chrysochloridae ****Golden mole *** Tenrecidae **** Tenrec A tenrec is any species of mammal within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are wildly diverse; as a result of convergent evolution some resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, rats, and mice. They occupy aquatic, a ... Notes References * Mammal unranked clades {{Mammal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenrecs
A tenrec is any species of mammal within the afrotherian family Tenrecidae endemic to Madagascar. Tenrecs are wildly diverse; as a result of convergent evolution some resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, rats, and mice. They occupy aquatic, arboreal, terrestrial and fossorial environments. Some of these species, including the greater hedgehog tenrec, can be found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. However, the speciation rate in this group has been higher in humid forests. All tenrecs are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years ( Ma) ago after rafting over from Africa. The split from their closest relatives, African otter shrews, is estimated to have occurred about 47–53 Ma ago. Etymology The word ''tenrec'' is borrowed, via French, from the Malagasy word (variant of ), which refers to the Tailless tenrec (''Tenrec ecaudatus''); the Malagasy word is related to . Evolution Tenrecs are believed to have evolved from a single s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrotherian
Afrotheria ( from Latin ''Afro-'' "of Africa" + ''theria'' "wild beast") is a clade of mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin: golden moles, elephant shrews (also known as sengis), tenrecs, aardvarks, hyraxes, elephants, sea cows, and several extinct clades. Most groups of afrotheres share little or no superficial resemblance, and their similarities have only become known in recent times because of genetics and molecular studies. Many afrothere groups are found mostly or exclusively in Africa, reflecting the fact that Africa was an island continent from the Cretaceous until the early Miocene around 20 million years ago, when Afro-Arabia collided with Eurasia. Because Africa was isolated by water, Laurasian groups of mammals such as insectivores, rodents, lagomorphs, carnivorans and ungulates could not reach Africa for much of the early to mid-Cenozoic. Instead, the niches occupied by those groups on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhynchocyon Chrysopygus-J Smit White Background
''Rhynchocyon'' is a genus of elephant shrew (or sengi) in the family Macroscelididae. Members of this genus are known colloquially as the checkered elephant shrews or giant sengis. It contains the following five species: *Golden-rumped elephant shrew, ''Rhynchocyon chrysopygus'' *Checkered elephant shrew, ''Rhynchocyon cirnei'' *Black and rufous elephant shrew, ''Rhynchocyon petersi'' * Stuhlmann's elephant shrew, ''Rhynchocyon stuhlmanni'' *Grey-faced sengi, ''Rhynchocyon udzungwensis'' Ecology The giant sengis are endemic to Africa, and usually live in lowland montane and dense forests, often "avoiding" edges of forest patches. They eat primarily insects such as beetles, termites, ants, and centipedes, using their proboscises to dig them from the soil and its tongue to lick them up. Their facial morphology limits their diets to tiny invertebrates, and unlike other members of Macroscelidea, do not supplement their diet with foods such as nuts or small fruits. They typically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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