Friday, February 01, 2008

The world's newest mammal

An elephant shrew is every bit as strange-looking a mammal as the name implies. The new species Rhynchocyon udzungwensis was first spotted in Tanzania in 2005. It weighs about 0.7kg and is over half a meter long from its tail tip to its very distinctive nose. It's the largest of the known elephant shrews, which are, in fact, more closely related to elephants than shrews.

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