Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences discovered a new species of round-eared sengi, or elephant-shrew, in the remote deserts of southwestern Africa. This is the third new species of sengi to be discovered in the wild over the past decade. It is also the smallest known member of the 19 sengis in the order Macroscelidea. The team’s discovery and description of the Etendeka round-eared sengi (Macroscelides micus) was published this week in the Journal of Mammalogy.

While collecting and examining sengi specimens from southwestern Africa, scientists encountered an unusual specimen collected in the remote northwestern region of Namibia that differed in appearance from any they had examined previously. The specimen was significantly smaller, had rust-colored fur, a large, hairless gland on the underside of its tail, and lacked dark skin pigment. The shrew also sports an elongated snout, akin to an elephant’s trunk. Preliminary genetic analysis showed important differences between this specimen and close relatives.

Suspecting they may have encountered a new species, the team— including research colleagues from the California Academy of Sciences, the Republic of Namibia Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and the National Museum of Namibia— set out on nine expeditions between 2005-2011. In total, the team collected 16 specimens for comparative analyses.

Comparing the specimens to those in natural history collections in Windhoek, Pretoria, London, Los Angeles, and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, and further genetic analysis, confirmed that they had, in fact, found a new species, demonstrating the critical role that scientific collections play in biodiversity studies.

“Had our colleagues not collected those first invaluable specimens, we would never have realized that this was in fact a new species, since the differences between this and all other known species are very subtle,” said Dr. Jack Dumbacher, the CAS Curator of Ornithology and Mammalogy. “Genetically, Macroscelides micus is very different from other members of the genus and it’s exciting to think that there are still areas of the world where even the mammal fauna is unknown and waiting to be explored.”

Sengis are restricted to Africa and, despite their small size, are more closely related to elephants, manitees, and aardvarks than they are to true shrews. Found in a remote area of Namibia, on the inland edge of the Namib Desert at the base of the Etendeka Plateau, scientists believe this new species went undescribed for so long because of the challenges of doing scientific research in such an isolated area. Yet it is precisely this isolation, and the unique environmental conditions in the region, that have given rise to this and other endemic organisms.

“With only about a dozen new species of mammal discovered in the wild each year, it is amazing that the Academy has been involved in describing three new sengis in the last decade,” said Dr. Galen Rathbun, an authority on the biology of sengis and an CAS Fellow and Research Associate. “There are new and exciting insights into biodiversity awaiting discovery, even in a group as familiar as mammals.”