Black and rufous elephant shrew | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Macroscelidea |
Family: | Macroscelididae |
Genus: | Rhynchocyon |
Species: | R. petersi |
Binomial name | |
Rhynchocyon petersi Bocage, 1880 |
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range |
The black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi), or the black and rufous sengi, is one of the 17 species of elephant shrew found only in Africa. Like other members of the genus Rhynchocyon, it is a relatively large species, with adults averaging about 28 cm (11 in) in length and 450-700 g (1.0-1.5 lb) in weight. It is native to Kenya and Tanzania. It eats insects (including beetles, termites, and ants) and spiders, supplementing this with fruits and seeds.
Several zoos have begun breeding this elephant shrew, including the Philadelphia Zoo in the United States. Two black and rufous elephant shrew males were born on February 4, 2007, at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. They are now kept at the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.