Tenrecomorpha
| Tenrecomorpha | |
|---|---|
| File:Lowland Streaked Tenrec, Mantadia, Madagascar.jpg | |
| Lowland streaked tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus) | |
| File:Potamogale velox 340101862.jpg | |
| Giant otter shrew (Potamogale velox) | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Afrosoricida |
| Suborder: | Tenrecomorpha Butler, 1972[1] |
| Superfamilies and families | |
| File:Tenrecomorpha Range.jpg | |
Tenrecomorpha is the suborder of otter shrews and tenrecs, a group of afrotherian mammals indigenous to equatorial Africa and Madagascar, respectively.[2][3] The two families are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago.[3][4][5] Potamogalid otter shrews were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae.[3] The suborder is also presumed to contain the extinct genus Plesiorycteropus, a group of possibly fossorial insectivores similar to aardvarks, which is known to be more closely related to tenrecs of subfamily Tenrecinae than to golden moles of suborder Chrysochloridea.[6]
Otter shrews are carnivorous and semiaquatic, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers. All tenrecs are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years (Ma) ago[3][4][5] after rafting from Africa to Madagascar in a single event.[7][8] Tenrecs are widely diverse; as a result of convergent evolution they resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums or mice. All tenrecs appear to be at least somewhat omnivorous, with invertebrates forming the largest part of their diets.
References
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