NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Rufous Elephant Shrew
Galegeeska rufescens (Peters, 1878)
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.
Picture of a Rufous elephant shrew (Galegeeska rufescens) taken at the Frankfurt Zoological Garden
JNguyenFlohic · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The rufous sengi or rufuous elephant shrew (Galegeeska rufescens), also known as the East African long-eared sengi or East African long-eared elephant shrew, is a species of small mammal belonging to the sengi family (Macroscelididae). Found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Wikipedia contributors, Rufous sengi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:16:41.541529+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Galegeeska rufescens (Peters, 1878)
- Name authority
- (Peters, 1878)
- Common name
- Rufous Elephant Shrew
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Macroscelidea
- Family
- Macroscelididae
- Genus
- Galegeeska
- 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
- genusGalegeeska Heritage & Rayaleh in Heritage et al., 2020
- speciesGalegeeska rufescens (Peters, 1878)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Elephantulus rufescens (Peters, 1878) (Peters, 1878) | synonym |
| Macroscelides rufescens Peters, 1878 Peters, 1878 | 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=1226823 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:C9WHB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.