Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
According to the "Red List of Threatened Animals" of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) in 1996 Elephantulus rufescens was classified as "vulnerable". The most important causes for decline of its populations are habitat loss and fragmentation by deforestation (Rathbun 1995).
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
These animals are not known to have a negative economic impact on humans.
The East African long-eared elephant shrew (Elephantulus rufescens) carries a type of malaria that humans apparently cannot contract. Therefore, it has been used in malarial research and has contributed greatly to medical advancement in the curing and understanding of Malaria (Koontz and Roeper 1983).
Positive Impacts: research and education
Elephantulus rufescens has a very limited role in the ecosystem. One reason for this is that it rarely ever creates new habitat due to the fact that it uses old, abondoned burrows and piles of leaves to build its nest.
The diet consists mainly of termites and ants, but also includes shoots, berries and roots (Vaughan 2000). In captivity they accept various foods, including fruits and vegetables (Nowak 1997).
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: wood, bark, or stems; fruit
Primary Diet: omnivore
Elephantulus rufescens is restricted to Africa. They are most common in southern Africa, specifically in Nambia, the Cape province of South Africa, and extreme southern Botswana. They can also be found from southeastern Sudan and northeastern Somalia to central Tanzania (Nowak 1997). See map in media section for illustration.
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
Elephantulus rufescens are found in a variety of habitats including open plains, arid lowlands, savannas, deserts, thornbush, and tropical forests. Most will take over old rodent burrows. The majority of Elephant shrews are forest dwellers that often live in burrows, ground depressions, rock crevices, termite mound crevices or under logs. Some elephant shrews construct nests on the forest floor, in which they sleep when not active. They also construct a network of paths to help them move around their territory. These trails are also used as escape routes from predators, such as snakes and small mammals (Smithers 1971).
Habitat Regions: terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest
There are different estimates of the life span of these animals. Animals living in the wild might reach an age of 1 to 1.5 years; those in captivity live about 3.5 years.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 1 to 1.5 years.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 3 to 4 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 1 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 3 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 6.0 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 1.6 years.
Although the common name of Elephantulus rufescens is 'elephant shrew', it is not a shrew nor is it related to elephants. It gets its name from its long mobile snout, which it can move around rather like an elephant’s trunk. It uses its snout to search for worms, ants, termites and other inverterbrates. Its legs are long and thin; its hindlimbs are longer than its forelimbs, allowing it to jump and hop. It has a long tail, and large eyes and ears. It also has long, soft fur; the upper parts are sandy brown, buffy gray or buffy orange and the underparts are white, or grayish (Corbet and Hanks 1968).
Range mass: 25 to 60 g.
Range length: 170 to 310 mm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Average basal metabolic rate: 0.317 W.
Elephantulus rufescens have a keen sense of smell that helps them to sense food and danger. When pursued, they hide in any available shelter. They also make a series of escape routes radiating out from their nests to feeding areas so that they can quickly escape if being pursued by a predator. Few predators actually raid their nest sites perhaps because the young mature quickly and leave the nest (Smithers 1971).
Known Predators:
The pair does not spend much time together. Females are usually dominant to males. Each individual defends the mating teritory sex-specifically; males ward off males and females ward off females. Boundary encounters are characterized by drumming of one or both hind feet, ritualized gestures, and high speed chases (Rathbun 1995).
Mating System: monogamous
Elephantulus rufescens form monogamous pairs when they mate and share a territory of about 0.34 ha. The pair makes trails through this area and mate at established points they mark. These markings are made by scent-marking, including rubbing a sternal gland on the substrate and probably by urination and defecation (Koontz and Roeper 1983). Females may have several liters annually; recorded interbirth intervals range from 56 to 145 days. There is no seasonal time for reproduction- mating takes place year round (Koontz and Roeper 1983).
Breeding season: No reproductive seasonality has been observed in the wild or in captivity (Koontz and Roeper 1983).
Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.
Range gestation period: 57 to 65 days.
Range weaning age: 18 to 36 days.
Average weaning age: 25 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 50 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 50 days.
Key Reproductive Features: year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); viviparous
Average birth mass: 10.6 g.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 50 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 50 days.
Elephantulus rufescens have a gestation period of about two months. The young are precocial, well developed at birth, covered with hair, and fairly large. . Their eyes are open at birth or soon thereafter and can walk almost immediately after they are born and thus, require minimal parental care. They are weaned by the time they are about 25 days old. At about 50 days they reach adult size, are sexually mature, and are driven from the parental territory.
Parental Investment: precocial ; male parental care ; female parental care
The rufous elephant shrew, rufous sengi or East African long-eared elephant-shrew (Galegeeska rufescens) is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. Found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda,[2] its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.[2]
Previous classified in the genus Elephantulus, a 2021 study found it to belong to the genus Galegeeska, which had been coined the previous year as a monotypic genus containing the then-rediscovered Somali elephant shrew (G. revoilii).[3] The American Society of Mammalogists has accepted these results.[4]
Galegeeska rufescens occupies the drywood land and grassland zone of East Africa.[5]
Galegeeska rufescens exhibits no sexual dimorphism. The proboscis is long and flexible. The species' tails are dark-brown and can be long up to its head-to-tail length. Both adults and juveniles are similar in color. The dorsal fur is of fine texture and the coloring is brown, reddish-brown in color, or buff while the ventral fur coloring is white. The coloration of the dorsal fur is influenced by the color of the soil in which G. rufescens lives.[6] However, adults have white feet while juveniles' feet are brown. The large eye is surrounded by a white ring which is interrupted by a dark patch which extended towards the rear of the animal. The ears are large and without fur. A sternal gland is present on both males and females. The sternal gland is indicated by short, fringed white hairs. Females have three pair of teats and the males have internal testes. [7]
Rufous elephant shrews are active throughout the day, with peaks in activity at dusk and dawn while having a midday rest. A mating male and female will build trails beneath leaf litter. The trails act as shelter and protection because the rufous elephant shrew does not build or use shelters or burrows. Throughout the trails are several rest spots for scent-marking and sunbathing.[8] Moving the forefoot laterally to push aside leaf litter and other loose debris, G. rufescens constructs and maintains trails.[9] The males usually spend most of their time cleaning the foraging trails. Except for foraging, all activities are performed in these trails. Trails act as an important means for escaping from predators. Insects form the major food resource of their diet in the dry season, while seeds are consumed during periods of rain.[5]
G. rufescens has not been observed sleeping with closed eyes, but has been observed resting with eyes partially closed for a period of 1 – 2 minutes. During these rest periods, which occur in rest spot along the trails, G. rufescens keeps their feet under their body to allow for a quick escape. This species takes flight when even the smallest noise is heard.[10]
This species is fairly monogamous; however, members of a monogamous pair spend little time together and are limited in social interaction. They live in a matriarchal society in which the female of the pair usually dominates the male. [11]
The rufous elephant shrew gives birth to one or two precocial young per litter. The female gives birth at the base of bushes or by fallen tree limbs beside the trails. She does not stay will the neonates and only nurses them in infrequently and for only a short amount of time. The neonates remain in the parental trails, expanding their familiarity of the parental territory up to 14 days after birth. If the young wander into any neighboring rufous elephant shrew trails, the residing residents chase them out of their trails. Before the next litter is born, parents chase the previous litter for the trails resulting in dispersal or death of the previous litter.[8]
Olfactory communication between young G. rufescens and their parents is achieved through apocrine glands (pedal glands) located on the underside of the young's feet. Neonates less than five days old have been observed back-rubbing one of its parents. Parents crouch down, allowing the neonates to climb on their backs and vigorously rub their four feet in the fur in a rapid vibrating motion. Cooperation between the neonates and adults is necessary or the neonates will fall off. The act of back-rubbing allows neonates to deposit pedal gland products on the fur of the parents and in turn transfer parental odors to their own fur. The mixture of the scents creates a family odor that can be used for recognizing family members.[8]
The rufous elephant shrew, rufous sengi or East African long-eared elephant-shrew (Galegeeska rufescens) is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. Found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
