Weird and wonderful animals
Sive Finlay introduces us to the Lowland Streaked Tenrec
Above: Lowland Streaked Tenrec, Hemicentetes semispinosus
Members of the tenrec family display a whole host of quirky traits. For example, the common tenrec( Tenrec ecaudatus), an animal which is only around 30 cm and 2kg, holds the record for the largest litter size of any mammal at an astounding 32 babies!
In terms of sheer weirdness, my personal favourite tenrec oddity is the lowland streaked tenrec( Hemicentetes semispinosus). At just 15cm long and weighing 80-150g, these cute, yellow and black-striped critters are unobtrusive inhabitants of tropical rainforest areas in eastern and northern Madagascar. Their detachable, barbed quills are both a formidable defence to would-be predators and comprise a weird and wonderful means of communication. In the centre of their backs a special set of quills have been modified into a stridulating organ. Reminiscent of grasshoppers or crickets the stridulating quills are rubbed together to produce high-pitched sound. They are the only mammals to have evolved this strange communication method, a skill which is used to maintain contact within family groups. Look up David Attenborough’ s BBC series on Madagascar to see a wonderful clip of the stridulating tenrecs in action. In short, although relatively understudied and poorly known outside of specialised circles, tenrecs are an awesome family filled with evolutionary oddities. The ingenious, unique communication found in H. semispinosus is just one trait which more than justifies tenrecs’ inclusion into the annals of“ weird and wonderful” animals.
Left: The tailless tenrec, Tenred ecaudatus, or Common Tenrec. Photo: Markus Fink.
Sive Finlay, a Zoology graduate is currently working as a postgraduate scholar with the Macroecology and Macroevolution group at TCD.
Tenrecs are interesting and fascinating mammals which, outside of the realms of zoology lectures, remain unknown to many people. A select group of just 31 species, these Madagascar natives have evolved into incredibly diverse individuals that resemble moles, shrews, hedgehogs and even otters! Their striking similarities to other species are so strong that early taxonomists didn’ t recognise tenrecs as being sister species. However, molecular studies established tenrecs as a clearly defined mammalian family which is more closely related to elephants and sea manatees than to hedgehogs or shrews!
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 58 Page 15