Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew
Encyclopedia
The Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew (Rhynchocyon chrysopygus) is the largest of the African elephant shrew
family. It is the size of a small rabbit, and is only found in the coastal Arabuko Sokoke National Park
north of Mombassa in Kenya
. Its name is derived from the conspicuous golden fur on its hindquarters which contrasts strongly with its otherwise dark fur. On juveniles its fur shows vestigal traces of the checkerboard
pattern seen on another giant elephant shrew
, the Checkered Elephant Shrew
(Rhynchocyon cirnei).
The Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew lives on the forest floor of evergreen
forest
s, rooting through the leaf litter for 80% of the waking day looking for grasshopper
s, beetle
s, spider
s and other small invertebrates.
The Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew has evolved
various stratagems to avoid predators, particularly snakes (like Black Mamba
s and cobra
s) and the Southern Banded Snake-eagle
. It is very fast, capable of running at 25km/h. When it detects a predator within its 'flight distance' it will bound off. If, however, the predator is outside its flight distance the elephant shrew will advertise its presence by slapping the leaf litter. This lets the predator know that it has been seen and it should not waste its time chasing the elephant shrew. In the event of a chase, or an ambush, the golden flash of fur will also often deflect the predators attention away from the head and onto the rump, which has thickened skin. As a final precaution each shrew has several nest
s which it maintains, thus a predator finding a nest will not learn to associate them with potential food.
The Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew was identified as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2007 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered
(EDGE) project.
Elephant shrew
Elephant shrews or jumping shrews are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea...
family. It is the size of a small rabbit, and is only found in the coastal Arabuko Sokoke National Park
Arabuko Sokoke National Park
The Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is located on the coast of Kenya, 110 km north of Mombassa and is protected as a national Forest Reserve. The Arabuko-Sokoke National Park is only a small portion of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Reserve, a few square kilometres in size and is located on the north-western...
north of Mombassa in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. Its name is derived from the conspicuous golden fur on its hindquarters which contrasts strongly with its otherwise dark fur. On juveniles its fur shows vestigal traces of the checkerboard
Checkerboard
A checkerboard or chequerboard is a board of chequered pattern on which English draughts is played. It is an 8×8 board and the 64 squares are of alternating dark and light color, often red and black....
pattern seen on another giant elephant shrew
Rhynchocyon
Rhynchocyon is a genus of elephant shrew in the Macroscelididae family. Members of this genus are known colloquially as the checkered elephant shrews.It contains the following four species:*Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew, Rhynchocyon chrysopygus...
, the Checkered Elephant Shrew
Checkered Elephant Shrew
The Checkered Elephant Shrew or Checkered Sengi is a species of elephant shrew in the Macroscelididae family.-Range and habitat:...
(Rhynchocyon cirnei).
The Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew lives on the forest floor of evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, rooting through the leaf litter for 80% of the waking day looking for grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s, beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and other small invertebrates.
The Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew has evolved
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
various stratagems to avoid predators, particularly snakes (like Black Mamba
Black mamba
The black mamba , also called the common black mamba or black-mouthed mamba, is the longest venomous snake in Africa, averaging around in length, and sometimes growing to lengths of...
s and cobra
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
s) and the Southern Banded Snake-eagle
Southern Banded Snake-eagle
The Southern Banded Snake Eagle or Fasciated Snake Eagle is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.It is found in Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe....
. It is very fast, capable of running at 25km/h. When it detects a predator within its 'flight distance' it will bound off. If, however, the predator is outside its flight distance the elephant shrew will advertise its presence by slapping the leaf litter. This lets the predator know that it has been seen and it should not waste its time chasing the elephant shrew. In the event of a chase, or an ambush, the golden flash of fur will also often deflect the predators attention away from the head and onto the rump, which has thickened skin. As a final precaution each shrew has several nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
s which it maintains, thus a predator finding a nest will not learn to associate them with potential food.
Conservation
The Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew is classified as endangered because of its highly restricted and fragmented environment; it is also hunted for food and by feral dogs.The Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew was identified as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2007 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered
EDGE Species
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species represent a disproportionate amount of unique evolutionary history. They have few close relatives and are often extremely unusual in the way they look, live and behave...
(EDGE) project.
External links
- EDGE of Existence "(Golden-rumped elephant-shrew)" Saving the World's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species
- ARKive - images and movies of the golden-rumped elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon chrysopygus)