Elephant Shrew - Classification

Classification

In the past, elephant shrews have been classified with the shrews and hedgehogs as part of the Insectivora; regarded as distant relatives of the ungulates; grouped with the treeshrews; and lumped in with the hares and rabbits in the Lagomorpha. Recent molecular evidence, however, strongly supports a superorder Afrotheria that unites tenrecs, and golden moles with certain mammals previously presumed to be ungulates, including hyraxes, sirenians, aardvarks and elephants, as well as the elephant shrews.

The 17 species of elephant shrew are placed in four genera, two of which are monotypic.

• ORDER MACROSCELIDEA
  • Family Macroscelididae
    • Genus Elephantulus
      • Short-snouted elephant shrew, E. brachyrhynchus
      • Cape elephant shrew, E. edwardii
      • Dusky-footed elephant shrew, E. fuscipes
      • Dusky elephant shrew, E. fuscus
      • Bushveld elephant shrew, E. intufi
      • Eastern rock elephant shrew, E. myurus
      • Karoo rock elephant shrew, E. pilicaudus
      • Somali elephant shrew, E. revoili
      • North African elephant shrew, E. rozeti
      • Rufous elephant shrew, E. rufescens
      • Western rock elephant shrew, E. rupestris
    • Genus Macroscelides
      • Short-eared elephant shrew, M. proboscideus
    • Genus Petrodromus
      • Four-toed elephant shrew, P. tetradactylus
    • Genus Rhynchocyon
      • Golden-rumped elephant shrew, R. chrysopygus
      • Checkered elephant shrew, R. cirnei
      • Black and rufous elephant shrew, R. petersi
      • Grey-faced sengi, R. udzungwensis