| Tail-less Tenrec[1] | ||||||||||||||
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| Tenrec ecaudatus (Schreber, 1778) |
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The Tail-less Tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus), also known as the Common Tenrec, is a species of mammal in the Tenrecidae family. It is found in Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, and Seychelles. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, and urban areas.[2]
The Tail-less Tenrec is the largest land-dwelling species of tenrec. It is 26 to 39 cm (10 to 15½ in) in length and weighs 1.5 to 2.5 kg (3¼ to 5½ lb). It has medium-sized, coarse grey to reddish-grey fur and long, sharp spines along its body. It not only eats small invertebrates among leaves, but also scavenges and hunts frogs and mice. If threatened, this tenrec will scream, erect its spiny hairs to a crest, jump, buck and bite. It shelters in a nest of grass and leaves under a rock, log or bush by day. It gives birth to a litter of as many as 32 young, with an average litter between 15-20 after a gestation of 50-60 days and when young, they have a black-and-white striped appearance. Despite being sometimes known as the Tail-Less Tenrec, they have a small tail 1 to 1.5 cm (⅜ to ½ in) in length.
References
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- ^ Bronner, Gary N.; Jenkins, Paulina D. (November 16, 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 77. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3.
- ^ a b Afrotheria Specialist Group (Tenrec Section), Vololomboahangy, R. & Goodman, S. (2008). Tenrec ecaudatus. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 29 December 2008.
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