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SPECIES IDENTIFICATION: What am I?

August 5, 2008 Buck Leave a comment Go to comments

Hint: I’m definitely not a rodent. Therefore, I’m not from the order Rodentia.

Image by Buck Denton.

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  1. EMayhem
    August 5, 2008 at 11:03 am | #1
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    Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus)?

  2. buckdenton
    August 5, 2008 at 11:30 am | #2
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    I see where you are going with this Electric Mayhem (great screen name). Good guess, but try again. Here are two more hints, (1) this little guy isn’t from the family Soricidae (shrews), and (2) it’s a termite specialist.

  3. EMayhem
    August 5, 2008 at 1:35 pm | #3
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    I’m not confident about this next guess: some type of bandicoot (?)

  4. buckdenton
    August 5, 2008 at 1:46 pm | #4
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    You are getting colder, so I am afraid it is not a bandicoot, but you are correct not to have confidence in your hunch. Bandicoots are marsupials, and these little mammals are not marsupials. Another hint: There are two “forms” that matter here (because of location) – one form has spines or quills and the other is more shrew-like and lacks spines.

  5. EMayhem
    August 5, 2008 at 4:53 pm | #5
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    Last guess – a tenrec.

  6. buckdenton
    August 5, 2008 at 5:00 pm | #6
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    You got it! It’s a large-eared tenrec (Geogale aurita).

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