| Tenrecidae | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Afrosoricida Tenrecomorpha |
| Family | Tenrecidae |
Tenrecidae or tenrecs, is a family of mammals found on Madagascar and in parts of the African mainland. Tenrecs are widely diverse; as a result of convergent evolution they resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums, mice and even otters. 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.
Interaction with Humans[]
In the island nation of Mauritius, some of the inhabitants eat tenrec meat, though it is difficult to obtain (as it is not sold in shops or markets) and difficult to prepare correctly.
The lesser hedgehog tenrec (Echinops telfairi) is one of 16 mammalian species that will have its genome sequenced as part of the Mammalian Genome Project. It is increasingly popular in the pet trade, and in the future may serve as an important model organism in biomedicine, as it is only distantly related to the mice, rats, guinea pigs, and rhesus macaques that comprise the most common research animals.
Species[]
There are four subfamilies, 10 genera, and 34 species of tenrecs:
Subfamily: Geogalinae Genus: Geogale Large-eared Tenrec (Milne-Edwards & A. Grandidier, 1872) (Geogale aurita) Subfamily: Oryzorictinae Genus: Limnogale Web-footed Tenrec (Major, 1896) (Limnogale mergulus) Genus: Microgale Short-tailed Shrew Tenrec (G. Grandidier, 1899) (Microgale brevicaudata) Cowan's Shrew Tenrec (Thomas, 1882) (Microgale cowani) Dobson's Shrew Tenrec (Thomas, 1884) (Microgale dobsoni) Drouhard's Shrew Tenrec (G. Grandidier, 1934) (Microgale drouhardi) Dryad Shrew Tenrec (Jenkins, 1992) (Microgale dryas) Pale Shrew Tenrec (Jenkins, Raxworthy & Nussbaum, 1997) (Microgale fotsifotsy) Gracile Shrew Tenrec (Major, 1896) (Microgale gracilis) Microgale grandidieri (Olson et al., 2009) Naked-nosed Shrew Tenrec (Jenkins, 1996) (Microgale gymnorhyncha) Jenkins' Shrew Tenrec (Goodman & Soarimalala, 2004) (Microgale jenkinsae) Northern Shrew Tenrec (Goodman, Raxworthy, Maminirina & Olson, 2006) (Microgale jobihely) Lesser Long-tailed Shrew Tenrec (Thomas, 1882) (Microgale longicaudata) †Microgale macpheei (Goodman, Vasey, and Burney, 2007) Major's Long-tailed Tenrec (Thomas, 1918) (Microgale majori) Montane Shrew Tenrec (Goodman & Jenkins, 1998) (Microgale monticola) Nasolo's Shrew Tenrec (Jenkins & Goodman, 1999) (Microgale nasoloi) Pygmy Shrew Tenrec (G. Grandidier, 1934) (Microgale parvula) Greater Long-tailed Shrew Tenrec (Thomas, 1926) (Microgale principula) Least Shrew Tenrec (Thomas, 1926) (Microgale principula) Shrew-toothed Shrew Tenrec (Jenkins, 1993) (Microgale soricoides) Taiva Shrew Tenrec (Major, 1896) (Microgale taiva) Talazac's Shrew Tenrec (Major, 1896) (Microgale talazaci) Thomas's Shrew Tenrec (Major, 1896) (Microgale thomasi) Genus: Oryzorictes Mole-like Rice Tenrec (Grandidier, 1870) (Oryzorictes hova) Four-toed Rice Tenrec (Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1882) (Oryzorictes tetradactylus) Subfamily: Potamogalinae (otter shrews) Genus: Micropotamogale (dwarf otter shrews) Nimba Otter Shrew (Heim de Balsac, 1954) (Micropotamogale lamottei) Ruwenzori Otter Shrew (de Witte & Frechkop, 1955) (Micropotamogale ruwenzorii) Genus: Potamogale Giant Otter Shrew (Du Chaillu, 1860) (Potamogale velox) Subfamily: Tenrecinae Genus Echinops Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec (Martin, 1838) (Echinops telfairi) Genus: Hemicentetes Highland Streaked Tenrec (Gunther, 1875) (Hemicentetes nigriceps) Lowland Streaked Tenrec (G. Cuvier, 1798) (Hemicentetes semispinosus) Genus: Setifer Greater Hedgehog Tenrec (Schreber, 1778) (Setifer setosus) Genus: Tenrec Tailless Tenrec (Schreber, 1778) (Tenrec ecaudatus)