Tenrecs

The family Tenrecidae includes between 30-34 species, all but three of which live on the island of Madagascar. The remaining three species (all otter shrews) live in Central and West equatorial Africa.

In general, tenrecs have poor vision, but their senses of smell, hearing, and touch are acute. Like other insectivores, they have an elongated snout, a small, primitive brain, and their skull is relatively small, long, and narrow. Their fur can be soft, coarse, or even spiny. Tenrecs have retained some reptilian characteristics, such as a cloaca-like common chamber into which their digestive, reproductive, and urinary systems empty, and from which these substances leave their body.

The family Tenrecidae family includes three subfamilies: the Tenrecinae (tenrecs), the Oryzorictinae (rice tenrecs), and the Potamogalinae (otter shrews). The best known tenrecs are similar in appearance to hedgehogs, and belong to the Tenrecinae subfamily. This subfamily includes three genera and three species. The rice tenrecs have a long tail and are closely related to the spiny hedgehogs; this subfamily includes three genera and 24 species. There are two genera and three species of otter shrews.