NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew
Rhynchocyon petersi Bocage, 1880
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.
Black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi) in Philadelphia Zoo
Joey Makalintal from Pennsylvania, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The black and rufous sengi or black and rufous elephant shrew (Rhynchocyon petersi), also known as the Zanj sengi or Zanj elephant shrew, is one of the 17 species of sengi found only in Africa. It is native to the lowland montane and dense forests of Kenya and Tanzania. Like other members of the genus Rhynchocyon, it is a relatively large species, with adults averaging about 28 cm (11 in) in length and 450–700 g (16–25 oz) in weight.
Wikipedia contributors, Black and rufous sengi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:20:45.082643+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rhynchocyon petersi Bocage, 1880
- Name authority
- Bocage, 1880
- Common name
- Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Macroscelidea
- Family
- Macroscelididae
- Genus
- Rhynchocyon
- 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
- subfamilyRhynchocyoninae
- genusRhynchocyon Peters, 1847
- speciesRhynchocyon petersi Bocage, 1880
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Rhynchocyon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| White-tailed SengiRhynchocyon stuhlmanni Matschie, 1893 | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray-faced SengiRhynchocyon udzungwensis Rathbun & Rovero, 2008 | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Golden-rumped Elephant ShrewRhynchocyon chrysopygus Günther, 1881 | MacroscelididaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=584926 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:4SRPB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.