What is Elephant shrew?
{{Taxobox | name = Elephant shrews | image = Macroscelides. proboscideus.6869.jpg | image_width = 200px | image_caption = [[Short-eared Elephant Shrew]]<br>''(Macroscelides proboscideus)'' | regnum = [[Animalia]] | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Mammal]]ia | infraclassis = [[Eutheria]] | superordo = [[Afrotheria]] | ordo = '''Macroscelidea''' | ordo_authority = [[Butler (biologist)|Butler]], [[1956]] | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = * Family [[Macroscelididae]] ''[[Rhynchocyon]]''<br> ''[[Petrodromus]]''<br> ''[[Macroscelides]]''<br> ''[[Elephantulus]]'' }} The '''elephant shrew''', also called '''sengi''', are any of 16 species of [[rat]]-sized [[Africa]]n [[mammal]]s named for their long, tapered, and flexible snout (proboscis). All have slim bodies, slender limbs, and very long hind legs and feet. Although they resemble [[shrew]]s, they are not [[insectivore]]s but constitute the mammalian order '''Macroscelidea'''. Long thought to be related to shrews, they are actually more closely related to [[elephant]]s than to shrews although this was not known or even widely believed until the 1990s. == Description == Elephant shrews are terrestrial and are active during the day. Their ears and eyes are large, and, when alarmed, they run on their toes swiftly along paths they construct and maintain, sometimes leaping over obstacles. When foraging, they move along the pathways, using their paws and the constantly moving proboscis to turn over leaf litter and soil in search of prey, which consists of small [[insect]]s (especially ants and [[termite]]s), other [[arthropod]]s, and [[earthworm]]s. Gestation lasts two months, and litters contain one or two well-developed young. {{biology-stub}} [[category:Mammals of Africa]] [[category:Mammals]]