Somali elephant shrew, extinct for 50 years, resurfaces

We thought it was lost but it is still there: after half a century of absence, the Somali elephant shrew has reappeared. The small mammal actually lived quietly away from humans in rocky areas of the Horn of Africa, researchers said on Tuesday.

Between 1891 and 1973, expeditions had collected a few dozen specimens of this species. Kept in natural history museums, they were until then the only scientific sources of information on animals. After 1973, nothing. The NGO Global Wildlife Conservation had even included the small mammal on its list of "25 most wanted lost species".

FOUND: What is related to an elephant but the size of a mouse, has hindlimbs built like a gazelle, & was lost to science since 1968? The Somali Sengi, an adorable elephant-shrew was recently rediscovered in Djibouti. @DukeLemurCenterhttps: //t.co/xSZYutT0CT pic.twitter.com/NJZs0Kx21g

Twelve individuals captured

In early 2019, Galen Rathburn, a global elephant shrew specialist, set up with other researchers more than 1,250 traps in 12 localities in Djibouti. Scientists believed that a sengi (one of the species of elephant shrew) lives in this country. Bingo: twelve specimens of the mammal with a brown coat, a long nose and eyes circled in white were collected.

Congratulations to all involved in the rediscovery of Somali sengi (Elephantulus revoilii). No longer extinct. Faith in humanity restored for now. #elephantshrew pic.twitter.com/Y5BuL2bfPo

“When we opened the first trap, and Galen Rathburn saw the cute little tail with a tuft on the end, he said, 'I can't believe it, I've never seen one in my life. ! ' », Recalls Steven Heritage, one of the researchers. It is therefore official: "the sengi of Somalia still exists", concludes the study, published this Tuesday in the journal PeerJ .

Species found, but still in danger?

The team now wants to organize a new expedition to Djibouti to learn more about the species. The number of individuals could not be estimated, but evidence of life in the border area of ​​Ethiopia and Somalia "strongly suggests that the Somali sengi is an inhabitant of all three countries". In addition, its habitat "is not threatened by agriculture or human development" in these regions, says Steven Heritage.

The study recommends that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature classify the species as “least concern” on its Red List. After the rediscovery in recent years of the silverback buckshot in Vietnam or the giant Wallace bee in Indonesia, 20 animal or plant species remain on the list of the 25 most sought-after species.

Planet

Galapagos: Thirty species of invertebrates discovered

Planet

Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery certified sustainable despite NGO disapproval

• Planet
• Researchers
• study
• Threatened species
• Animals
• Somalia