For example, by looking at the mammal family tree, we can see that the lineages that led to tenrecs and hedgehogs split about 160 million years ago. There are also about 20 species of shrew tenrec that for most people would be impossible to tell apart from actual shrews - species belonging to the family Soricidae.ĭespite looking similar, these tenrecs aren't actually closely related to any of the animals they look like. While tenrec species might not look much like one another, they do bear striking similarities to other animals not found on Madagascar.įor example, there's the greater hedgehog tenrec, Setifer setosus, and the lesser hedgehog tenrec, Echinops telfairi, which – as their names suggest – both look unmistakably like hedgehogs, with backs covered in short, sharp spines. From there, the tenrecs' ancestors would have adapted to the variety of habitats on Madagascar, slowly diverging into the multitude of different looking species we see today. In the time since, it's thought that the ancestors of some of modern-day Madagascar's wildlife, including tenrecs, inadvertently reached the island having rafted across the Mozambique Channel. Madagascar broke off from mainland Africa around 170 million years ago. Instead, they are an amazing example of adaptive radiation or divergent evolution. The tenrec family doesn't share a body shape blueprint in the same way. Like tenrecs, these birds are closely related, and while they vary a little from species to species, they generally have quite a similar body plan - being small with a long, pointed beak. This is unusual! Take hummingbirds for example, they are a large group of around 360 species that all belong to the family Trochilidae. Then there are some species that are so unique looking that there's nothing on Earth you can directly compare them to. In between there are species that look a lot like moles, rodents and hedgehogs. Tenrecs range from species the size of a small dog to tiny shrew-like creatures that Natalie describes as being 'about the size of a Wotsit crisp'. 'They are my favourite group of mammals.' 'Tenrecs are wonderfully weird,' says senior researcher Dr Natalie Cooper, who's spent time in Madagascar studying these animals. But despite being close relatives, these animals don't look much like one another at all. There are about 36 species of tenrec, all belonging to a family called Tenrecidae. They are also sometimes killed by domestic cats and dogs, and small individuals may even be eaten by larger members of their species. Tenrecs are food for birds of prey, snakes and possibly fossa too.
What do tenrecs eat and what eats them?įor the most part, tenrecs eat invertebrates, such as worms, insects and their larvae, though some are known to eat small vertebrates, such as baby snakes and amphibians. Like many of this large island's plants and animals, most species of tenrec are endemic, meaning they aren't naturally found anywhere else in the world.
Tenrecs are a group of mammals mainly found on Madagascar.
In fact, tenrecs are more closely related to elephants than they are to hedgehogs!ĭiscover why these unusual mammals deserve more of the limelight. With just a quick glance at the image above, it's easy to see how someone could mistake a hedgehog tenrec for an actual hedgehog.īut what makes these lookalikes peculiar is that they last shared a common ancestor some 160 million years ago.