Petrodromus tetradactylus

Peters, 1846

Four-toed Sengi

Figure 1. Photograph by G. Rathbun.

Figure 2. FMNH 151210. Photograph by R. Banasiak.

Type Description:

Bericht Verhandl. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 11:258

Type Locality:

Mozambique, Tette.

Measurements:

Total length: 323-360 mm

Head and body: 165-220 mm

Tail length: 130-180 mm

Hindfoot length: 54-61 mm

Ear length: 33-35 mm

Weight: 155-220 g

Description:

Petrodromus tetradactylus is the color of ash dorsally and white ventrally. There is a white ring around the eye. The tail has very black stout hairs along the ventral side, and there are four toes on each hind foot.

Comparisons:

The only other sengis that are as big are Rhynchocyon, which are bigger, of much darker colours and have toes. Elephantulus is a smaller sengi, roughly half the size of Petrodromus, and there are five teeth on each hind foot.

Distribution:

Petrodromus tetradactylus is found within dense evergreen undergrowth in the caesalpinoid forests, woodlands and thickets throughout SE and central Africa with a distinct population inhabiting the Dem. Rep. Congo (Zaire) basin (south of the main river). It lives in burrows on the forest or thicket floors, using habitual pathways with regularly spaced 'landing pads' of cleared, bare earth. (Kingdon, 1997)

Ecological Notes:

Petrodromus lives in a variety of habitats, including dry rocky areas, but prefers thick undergrowth. It eats termites and ants, and does not seem to make a nest, sleeping instead in thick vegetation.

Key Reference:

1. Brown, J. C. 1964. Observations on the elephant shrews (Macroscelididae) of equatorial Africa. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 143:103-119.
2. Kingdon, J. 1984. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Insectivores and Bats). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2A:54-59.
3. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 149.
4. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2:1739-1740, 1742.