Tenrecomorpha
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Tenrecomorpha is the suborder of otter shrews and tenrecs, a group of afrotherian mammals indigenous to equatorial Africa and Madagascar, respectively.[1][2] The two families are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago.[2][3][4] Potamogalid otter shrews were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae.[2] The suborder is also presumed to contain the extinct genus Plesiorycteropus, a group of possibly fossorial insectivores similar to aardvarks, which is known to be more closely related to tenrecs of subfamily Tenrecinae than to golden moles of suborder Chrysochloridea.[5]
Otter shrews are carnivorous and semiaquatic, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers. All tenrecs are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years (Ma) ago[2][3][4] after rafting from Africa to Madagascar in a single event.[6][7] Tenrecs are widely diverse; as a result of convergent evolution they resemble hedgehogs, shrews, opossums or mice. All tenrecs appear to be at least somewhat omnivorous, with invertebrates forming the largest part of their diets.
References
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- ↑ Template:MSW3 Afrosoricida
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