''Hemicentetes'' is a genus of

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 ...

with two species, present on the island of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Geographic Range

There are two species in the genus ''Hemicentetes'', ''H. semispinosus'' and ''H. nigriceps'' both are found only on Madagascar. Lowland streaked tenrecs (''H. semispinosus'') are found in the rainforests on the east side of the island and

highland streaked tenrec The highland streaked tenrec (''Hemicentetes nigriceps'') is an insectivore which lives in the central upland regions of Madagascar. Its black and white striped body is covered with quills, which it will raise when agitated. The spines detach and ...

s (''H. nigriceps'') are found in humid forest and plateau savanna boundary habitat in the central upland portion of Madagascar.

Habitat

Lowland streaked tenrecs (''H. semispinosus'') are found in tropical rainforest habitats while highland streaked tenrecs (''H. nigriceps'') are found in both tropical rainforest and savanna habitats. Their ranges were not thought to overlap, but they were found coexisting in the widely varied habitat of Mahatsinjo Forest in 2000, which led researchers to believe that they were separate species rather than subspecies.

References

Afrosoricida Mammal genera Taxa named by St. George Jackson Mivart {{afrosoricida-stub