Elephant shrews were tiny animals, the size of a mouse, with an elephant-like tusk. They are known as sengi, a name derived from the Bantu language. A new species of the miniscule mammals were discovered in samples of sengi collected in northwestern Namibia several years ago.
California Academy of Sciences researchers noticed one of the animals they collected did not resemble familiar species. The animal was small, having tawny-colored fur over light skin, and possessed a small, dark gland under its tail.
To confirm they discovered a new type of animal, investigators returned to the remote region several times between 2005 and 2011. There, they collected more than a dozen of the unusual rodents.
Genetic analysis revealed the animals were a new, 20th variety of the animal, Macroscelides micus, or the Etendeka round-eared sengi.
Researchers from Namibia set out to museums around the world, searching for animals that resembled the new find. Searching collections from San Francisco and Pretoria to London revealed no animal that matched the description of the tiny mammals.
"Several museum collections were instrumental in determining that what we had was truly new to science, highlighting the value of collections for this type of work. Genetically, Macroscelides micus is very different from other members of the genus," Jack Dumbacher, Curator of Ornithology and Mammalogy at the Academy, said.
Elephant shrews are not true shrew - as their name and tiny trunk suggest, they are more closely related to the elephant, along with aardvarks and sea cows. Sengis are only found in the Namib Desert at the base of the Etendeka Plateau. The remote region, and the challenges posed by working in the area, could account for the species going undescribed until now.
This is the third new species of elephant shrew to be discovered in the last 10 years.
It is the smallest of all known species of sengi. They weigh less than an ounce, and don't grow larger than 7.5 inches long. They use their tiny trunks in the same way as an aardvark - to sweep the area for ants. Researchers believe the rusty fur of the tiny creatures help them remain hidden in their desert environment.
"There are new and exciting insights into biodiversity awaiting discovery, even in a group as familiar as mammals," Galen Rathbun, co-researcher in the study, state din a press release.
Discovery and identifiication of the new variety of the sengi was detailed in the Journal of Mammalogy.
