Karoo Round-eared Sengi

Open encyclopedia reference

The round-eared sengi or round-eared elephant shrew (Macroscelides proboscideus), also called the Karoo round-eared sengi or Karoo round-eared sengi to distinguish it from its sister species), is a species of small mammal belonging to the sengi family (Macroscelididae). It is found in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and grassland, and hot deserts. They eat insects, shoots, and roots. Their gestation period is 56 days. The species was formerly misleadingly called the short-eared sengi or short-eared elephant shrew. Sengis are among only a handful of monogamous mammals, making them a model group for the study of monogamy. They have been studied for their mate guarding behavior. Mate guarding is considered a predominant male trait in round-eared sengis. This strategy is used to guard the female before and after heat to eliminate male competition, which makes male round-eared sengis monogamous and more vulnerable to their surroundings as they spent a majority of their time dedicated to this tactic.

Wikipedia contributors, Karoo round-eared sengi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:11:16.534329+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Macroscelides proboscideus (Shaw, 1800)

Name authority

(Shaw, 1800)

Common name

Karoo Round-eared Sengi

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Macroscelidea

Family

Macroscelididae

Genus

Macroscelides

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderMacroscelidea Butler, 1956
12. familyMacroscelididae Bonaparte, 1838
13. subfamilyMacroscelidinae
14. genusMacroscelides A. Smith, 1829
15. speciesMacroscelides proboscideus (Shaw, 1800)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Macroscelides. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 16 records assigned to Macroscelididae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=584922 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

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:6R3ZG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.