North African sengi
species of mammal
The North African sengi or North African elephant shrew (Petrosaltator rozeti) is a small mammal belonging to the Macroscelididae. It is native to Algeria, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, and is the only extant afrotherian within its range.
Taxonomy
The North African sengi was scientifically described by Georges Louis Duvernoy in 1833 under the name Elephantulus rozeti.
Molecular evidence indicates that it is more closely related to the genus Petrodromus than to members of the genus Elephantulus; it was therefore moved to the new genus Petrosaltator in 2016.
The split with Petrodromus likely occurred during the Miocene period.
Description
The North African sengi is a small rodent-like in appearance, with a small body, large ears, and a long tail. It weighs around 50 g (1.8 oz), which is very light compared to other sengis. The total length is from 24 to 38.5 cm (9.4 to 15.2 in), of which the tail is 13 to 16 cm (5.1 to 6.3 in). The fur on the upper body varies from yellowish brown to pale sandy-pink, and the fur on the underside is white. It has a long flexible snout, which it can move in a circular fashion; the nostrils are located towards the tip of the snout, with long sensory whiskers growing at the base of the snout.
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This entry incorporates text from “North African sengi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.