For the first time in more than a century, researchers have found a giant elephant-shrew entirely new to science. The largest such species yet found, Rhynchocyon udzungwensis is somewhat bigger than a gray squirrel.

To see a video of the newly named species, click here or on the image above. The clip was taken by a remote camera set up to survey wildlife in Tanzaniaâs Udzungwa Mountains. |
Recent molecular analyses show that the 16 elephant-shrew species arenât shrews at all, but belong to a broad group that includes aardvarks, sea cowsâand elephants. Galen Rathbun of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco describes elephant-shrews as part miniature antelope (with a bounding run and quick-to-stand babies), part anteater (hunting invertebrates), and part rodent (furry with a long tail). The snout is âvery wiggly but not prehensile,â he says. Rathbun and his colleagues found four specimens in Tanzaniaâs Udzungwa Mountains. The formal description appears in the February Journal of Zoology.