NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Four-toed Elephant Shrew
Petrodromus tetradactylus Peters, 1846
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.
The four-toed sengi (Petrodromus tetradactylus), Mareja Community Reserve, Pemba, northern Mozambique, 17 June 2011, specimen number CAS MAM 29347
Galen B. Rathbun · CC BY 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The four-toed sengi or four-toed elephant shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus) is the only living species in the genus Petrodromus, which together with five other extant genera Rhynchocyon, Macroscelides, Petrosaltator, Galegeeska and Elephantulus constitutes the order Macroscelidea. This species of sengi is only found in particular regions in Africa and is smaller than its relatives. A comprehensive record of this species is lacking.
As its name suggests, the species has four toes on its hind feet, and like other sengis, it has been named for its elephant-like, mobile proboscis.
Wikipedia contributors, Four-toed sengi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:45:36.129574+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Petrodromus tetradactylus Peters, 1846
- Name authority
- Peters, 1846
- Common name
- Four-toed Elephant Shrew
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Macroscelidea
- Family
- Macroscelididae
- Genus
- Petrodromus
- 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
- genusPetrodromus Peters, 1846
- speciesPetrodromus tetradactylus Peters, 1846
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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=584923 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:776PW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.