The Somali elephant shrew or Somali sengi (''Galegeeska revoilii'') is a species of
elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae.
Habitat
Its natural habitat is arid and semiarid desert with rocky substrates and
sparse shrubs. In some parts of Somalia, the Somali sengi and
rufous sengi (''G. rufescens'') may be locally
sympatric
In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...
. It is found in the northern
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
; it was formerly thought to be exclusively
endemic to Somalia, but a 2020 sighting also indicates they are found in
Djibouti and potentially
Ethiopia.
Classification
It was formerly classified in the genus ''
Elephantulus'', but a 2020 study found it to be the
sister taxon of the clade containing the genera ''
Petrodromus'' and ''
Petrosaltator''; and the genus ''
Galegeeska'' was coined for it.
Disappearance and rediscovery
The Somali sengi was among the 25 "most wanted lost" species that were the focus of
Global Wildlife Conservation
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
'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.
[Enrico de Lazaro]
Scientists Rediscover Long-Lost Species of Mammal: Somali Sengi
on: sci-news, 20 August 2020
References
Elephant shrews
Mammals of Somalia
Endemic fauna of Somalia
Mammals described in 1881
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN
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