NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Dusky Elephant Shrew
Elephantulus fuscus (Peters, 1852)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Drawing of Elephantulus fuscus, printed in the species description (under the scientific name macroscelides fuscus) published by Wilhelm Peters: Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach Mossambique: auf Befehl seiner Majestät des Königs Friedrich Wilhelm IV in den Jahren 1842 bis 1848 ausgeführt. Berlin, 1852, pp. 1–205 (pl. 19)
Wilhelm Müller · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The dusky sengi or dusky elephant shrew (Elephantulus fuscus) is a species of sengi in the family Macroscelididae. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
Wikipedia contributors, Dusky sengi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:37:18.982877+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Elephantulus fuscus (Peters, 1852)
- Name authority
- (Peters, 1852)
- Common name
- Dusky Elephant Shrew
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Macroscelidea
- Family
- Macroscelididae
- Genus
- Elephantulus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderMacroscelidea Butler, 1956
- familyMacroscelididae Bonaparte, 1838
- subfamilyMacroscelidinae
- genusElephantulus Thomas & Schwann, 1906
- speciesElephantulus fuscus (Peters, 1852)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Elephantulus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Short-snouted Elephant ShrewElephantulus brachyrhynchus (A. Smith, 1836) | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky-footed Elephant ShrewElephantulus fuscipes (Thomas, 1894) | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bushveld Elephant ShrewElephantulus intufi (A. Smith, 1836) | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Rock Elephant ShrewElephantulus myurus Thomas & Schwann, 1906 | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Rock Elephant ShrewElephantulus rupestris (A. Smith, 1831) | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Karoo Rock SengiElephantulus pilicaudus Smit, 2008 | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Macroscelides fuscus Peters, 1852 Peters, 1852 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584915 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:398CW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.