#Mammalia

[snototter]

A red fox (Vulpes vulpes) amongst the heather in Scotland, UK

by Iain H Leach

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Mammalia - Macroscelidea

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our first group of placental mammals, as well as our first group belonging to a diverse clade of mammals known as “Afrotherians”, the order Macroscelidea are commonly called “elephant shrews”, “jumping shrews”, or ���sengis.” Like many animals commonly called shrews, macroscelideans are not true shrews, and are closer related to elephants than they are to shrews! Macroscelidea includes one family, Macroscelididae, with 20 species in 6 genera.

Sengis are small, quadrupedal, and insectivorous. They have long, flexible snouts, which they use to search for food, with the length of the snout varying between species. They will then use their tongue to flick food into their mouth, much like an anteater. They eat mainly insects, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and earthworms. Some species also feed on small amounts of plant matter, especially new leaves, seeds, and small fruits. They have long legs relative to their size, and scaly tails. They have large canine teeth, and also high-crowned cheek teeth similar to those of ungulates. They are mostly diurnal and very active, wary, well camouflaged, and adept at dashing away from threats. Several species make a series of cleared pathways through the undergrowth and spend their day patrolling them for insect life. If the animal is disturbed, the pathway provides an obstacle-free escape route. Sengis are uncommon, but widely distributed across Africa, mainly southern Africa.

Sengis are solitary, despite many species living in monogamous pairs. These pairs will only meet for mating, and not associate otherwise, living in separate nests. They share and defend their home territory, which is marked using their scent glands. Female sengis undergo a menstrual cycle similar to that of humans, making them one of the few nonprimate mammals to do so. The sengi mating period lasts for several days. After mating, the pair will return to their solitary habits. After a gestation period varying from 45 to 60 days, the female will bear a litter of one to three young. The young are born relatively well developed, and are able to run within a few hours. They remain in the nest for several days before venturing outside. After five days, the young's milk diet is supplemented with mashed insects, which are collected and transported in the cheek pouches of the female. The young then slowly start to explore their environment and hunt for insects. After about 15 days, the young will begin the migratory phase of their lives, and will eventually begin to establish their own territories. Females have litters several times a year.

Macroscelids are thought to have diverged from other afrotherians roughly 57.5 million years ago. The earliest definitive member was Chambia from the early-middle Eocene of Tunisia. Some early macroscelids, such as Myohyrax, were so similar to hyraxes that they were initially included with that group, while others, such as Mylomygale, were relatively rodent-like. These unusual forms all died out by the Pleistocene. The diversification of living macroscelids apparently began when the Rhynchocyon lineage split off about 33 Ma ago, in the early Oligocene.

Propaganda under the cut:

Sengis are one of the fastest small mammals, having been recorded to reach speeds of 28.8 kilometres per hour (17.9 mph).

Unlike most other sengis, Short-snouted Elephant Shrews (Elephantulus brachyrhynchus) utilize a network of safety burrows by digging their own burrows or stealing the pre-existing burrows of rodents.

The Cape Elephant Shrew (Elephantulus edwardii) feeds on both insects and the nectar of plants, covering its long nose in pollen. It is an important pollinator for the Pagoda Lily (Massonia bifolia), Hyobanche atropurpurea, and the Sulphur Sugarbush (Protea sulphurea).

The Somali Elephant Shrew (Galegeeska revoilii) was among the 25 "most wanted lost species” that were the focus of Global Wildlife Conservation's “Search for Lost Species” initiative. On 18 August 2020, 50 years after it was last seen and recorded, it was announced that a population had been found in Djibouti, the first documented since 1968.

Rufous Elephant Shrews (Galegeeska rufescens) are very meticulous about their foraging trails (see gif above). Throughout the trails are several spots for resting, scent-marking, and sunbathing. They maintain their trails by pushing aside leaf litter and other loose debris. The males usually spend most of their time cleaning the trails.

Young Rufous Elephant Shrews will climb on their parents’ backs and vigorously rub their four feet in the fur in a rapid vibrating motion. This allows them to transfer odors from scent glands on their feet to their parents, as well as pick up their parents’ scent. The mixture of the scents creates a family odor that can be used for recognizing family members.

The Etendeka Round-eared Sengi (Macroscelides micus) (image 4) is the smallest known sengi. It weighs less than one ounce (28 grams) and is 19 cm (7.3 inches) long, including the tail, when fully grown.

The Grey-faced Sengi (Rhynchocyon udzungwensis) is the largest known sengi, on average 56.4 cm (22.2 in) long, and weighing 711 g (1.6 lbs). This species was only recently discovered in January 2008.

[randomtheidiot]

I always wanted foxes to be added to Minecraft, but then we got them and they were ugly as hell, so I’ve finally taken matters into my own hands. I think it’s quite the improvement.

Here’s some other concepts for variants of the regular fox that would need a different model instead of just a new texture. I know that the fennec fox is the only true fox here and the rest aren’t actually foxes, but they have the flavor* of true foxes, so I added them for extra zest. Besides, if the vanilla badlands wolf can be a striped hyena, the old growth fox can be a tanuki.

*That certain je ne sais quoi, if you will.

[life-on-our-planet]

Melanistic fallow deer filmed by Jakub Wencek in the forests of Barycz Valley.

©

[doglover43]

i love when horses are newly born and have such long legs . what do you plan to do with those!!!!

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

This animal was requested!

[reanimateobjects]

[toacody]

Fj Kikanalo

An earthquake? No, that's just migration season.

Source

Creator: FeroxJ

[saritawolf]

North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) - (c) SaritaWolf - please do not repost

[pavelnyrikov]

American mink (Neogale vison)

Moscow, December 2024 / Photographer: Pavel Nyrikov

[tbalderdash-art-blog]

An attempt at constructing a sheep without copying from reference, think it went pretty well. The images search results for sheep are very cute :)

[snototter]

A Galapagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki) sleeping in Galapagos, Ecuador

by Tim Matthews

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Mammalia - Afrosoricida

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our next group of Afrotherians is the strange order Afrosoricida. Afrosoricida is a Latin-Greek compound name which means "looking like African shrews”, another of the many groups of animals called “shrews” that is in no way related to true shrews. It contains the families Potamogalidae (“otter shrews”), Tenrecidae (“tenrecs”), and Chrysochloridae (“golden moles” - also in no way related to true moles).

Afrosoricids tend to be small. Most species are nocturnal and have poor eyesight. Their whiskers are rather sensitive and they can detect very minute vibrations in the ground to locate their prey. The three living groups have very little similarities otherwise, having evolved to occupy different niches. Potamogalids, the “otter shrews”, are carnivorous and semi-aquatic, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers, particularly insects. Unlike most aquatic mammals, they swim by undulating their tail in a side-to-side motion. They are native to sub-Saharan Africa. Tenrecids, the “tenrecs”, are diverse, with some resembling shrews, some resembling rodents, and some resembling hedgehogs. Most are terrestrial, but some are semi-arboreal, some are fossorial, and at least one is semi-aquatic. All species are at least somewhat omnivorous, with invertebrates making up the largest part of their diets. They are native only to the island of Madagascar. Chrysochlorids, the “golden moles”, have short legs with powerful digging claws, very dense fur that repels dirt and moisture, and toughened skin, particularly on the head. Their fur varies from black to pale yellow or grey, and has an iridescent sheen of green, blue, violet or copper when viewed in light. Their eyes are non-functional and covered with furred skin, and their external ears are just tiny openings. An enlarged, dry, leathery pad protects their nostrils while the animal digs. They feed on small insects and earthworms or small vertebrates such as lizards or burrowing snakes. They are native to sub-Saharan Africa, mainly South Africa.

Unusual among placental mammals, afrosoricids have a cloaca, a singular orifice for both relieving waste and reproducing. Otter shrews have just two young per litter, golden moles one to three, but tenrecs can have as many as 32, depending on species.

Afrosoricida arose during the Eocene. The otter shrews and tenrecs are considered to have split about 47–53 million years ago, with all modern tenrecs descending from a common ancestor that crossed the Mozambique Channel 29–37 million years ago. While the fossil record of tenrecs is scarce, at least some specimens from the early Miocene of Kenya show close affinities to living species from Madagascar, such as Geogale aurita. Golden moles likely diverged from the group around 50 million years ago.

Propaganda under the cut:

Some species of tenrec are among the few terrestrial mammals that echolocate.

Some tenrec species are social, living in multigenerational family groups with over a dozen individuals.

The Large-eared Tenrec (Geogale aurita) (image 4) is heterothermic, meaning its body temperature fluctuates with the surrounding environment, although pregnant and lactating females may maintain a more steady, higher temperature. The animal is often torpid in the heat of the day, hiding in concealed locations such as hollow logs or holes, and waking up at night to hunt.

One of the smallest tenrecs is the Large-eared Tenrec at 6 to 7.5 cm (2.4 to 3.0 in) long, with a tail half as long, and weighing between 5 and 8 grams. Nevertheless, they are tiny predators, and will hunt for small prey, particularly termites, on the forest floor.

The endangered Jenkins's Shrew Tenrec (Microgale jenkinsae) lives only within the Mikea Forest, a semi-arid forest of sandy soil and relatively short trees. The forest is also home to several other species of tenrecs (though not unique to the forest), rodents, a shrew, lemurs, and many reptiles, including two vulnerable bird species. Mikea Forest is currently not protected, and is at risk of clearing for land and for commodity lumber.

Like humans, the Lesser Long-tailed Shrew Tenrec (Microgale longicaudata) can be active at any hour of the day or night. Each individual maintains its own pattern of rest and activity.

The Web-footed Tenrec (Microgale mergulus) is the only known semi-aquatic tenrec. It is strictly nocturnal, spending the day in stream-side burrows, only emerging at night to hunt. It feeds on aquatic insects and larvae, crayfish, crabs, small fish, and tadpoles.

The Greater Long-tailed Shrew Tenrec (Microgale principula) is one of eight species of Microgale tenrecs whose remains have been found in deposits in caverns at Andrahomana, alongside the bones of extinct birds including Elephant Birds (Mullerornis modestus) and Malagasy Sheldgoose (Centrornis majori). The animals may have fallen into the cave system through "skylights" in the roof. The cave is outside the present day range of the Greater Long-tailed Shrew Tenrec, suggesting it used to be more widespread.

The Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec (Echinops telfairi) is a tenrec which has convergently evolved to resemble a hedgehog. Like many other small exotic animals, they are growing in popularity in the exotic pet trade, resulting in these tenrecs being taken from the wild to fuel the industry. Like many other wild animals kept as pets, they tend to suffer from higher rates of malnutrition, abandonment, and morbidity when kept as pets.

The Highland Streaked Tenrec (Hemicentetes nigriceps) takes its quilled defense to the next level, raising its quills when agitated. The barbed spines can also detach and will remain lodged in the skin of an inquisitive predator, like porcupine quills.

The black-and-white pattern of the Highland Streaked Tenrec is thought to mimic the juvenile patterning of the Tailless Tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus), since the parents of the Tailless Tenrec are known to be aggressively protective.

The Tailless Tenrec is the largest species of tenrec, at 26 to 39 cm (10 to 15 in) in length and 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) in weight. As an omnivore, it eats large invertebrates, frogs, reptiles, mice and other small mammals, as well as fruits, leaves and other vegetation. It has small, needle-sharp teeth and, if threatened, will scream, erect its spiny hairs into a crest, jump, buck, and bite.

The Tailless Tenrec was the first tropical mammal observed to hibernate, for long stretches of time without waking periods, up to nine months at a time.

Tailless Tenrec females possess up to 29 teats, more than any other mammal.

The Lowland Streaked Tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus) (image 1) will not only raise its quills to deter predators, but may also aggressively headbutt them. It can also rub its quills together in a method known as stridulation, similar to the method of sound produced by crickets and cicadas. The sound produced is too high-pitched to be perceived by human ears, and is likely used to communicate with other Lowland Streaked Tenrecs. The streaked tenrec is the only mammal known to use stridulation for generating sound.

Giant Otter Shrews (Potamogale velox) (image 3) are solitary and are known to occupy between 500 and 1,000 m of stream, marking the boundaries of their territory with piles of dung, which they regularly visit to refresh.

The Nimba Otter Shrew (Micropotamogale lamottei) is able to dive for up to 15 minutes when frightened, temporarily slowing its metabolic rate to withstand oxygen deprivation.

Golden moles sense the world mainly through their heightened sense of hearing. They have been found to have ossicles (middle ear bones) that are larger than other similar mammals. These ossicles are believed to allow them to sense seismic vibrations, allowing them to be able to sense where they are. Many species also have long and highly coiled cochleas.

The Rough-haired Golden Mole (Chrysospalax villosus) sometimes feeds above ground, and, when it does, it roots about like a pig in search of worms and insects.

Golden moles may travel up to 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) a night in search of food. They seek promising clumps of grass by listening for wind-rustled grass-root stresses and termites' head-banging alarm signals, neither of which can be heard easily above ground, so they stop periodically and dip their heads under the sand to listen.

Cape Golden Moles (Chrysochloris asiatica) live in soil, but have been observed venturing onto sandy beaches, presumably to feed on amphipods and isopods occurring there.

In 2013 it was discovered that Hottentot Golden Moles (Amblysomus hottentotus) prefer males with larger penises.

The Giant Golden Mole (Chrysospalax trevelyani) is the largest golden mole species, at 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. It is also one of the rarest and most endangered of all the golden moles.

The critically endangered De Winton's Golden Mole (Cryptochloris wintoni) was last seen in 1937, and thought to be extinct. In 2017, it was listed among the 25 "most wanted lost species” for Re:wild's "Search for Lost Species" initiative. Using data and samples from surveys conducted in 2021, including environmental DNA, burrow traces, and sniffer dogs, a population was finally rediscovered in 2023, 86 years after its last sighting!

[life-on-our-planet]

Very little is known about the Owsten's palm civet and its behaviors. The information we have comes from the observations of local trappers and scientific study of the civet's scat and teeth. Although it's listed as endangered conservationists are working to increase populations by protecting wild civets, eliminating illegal civet hunting and trade, and conservation breeding. ©Port Lympne

[wikipediapictures]

Japanese macaque

“Snow monkey in Yamanouchi, Nagano, Japan grooming and cleaning her young.” - via Wikimedia Commons

[have-you-seen-this-animal]