New species is more closely related to an elephant than a shrew .

Meet the tiny mouse-like creature with a TRUNK: New species is more closely related to an elephant than a shrew
Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences discovered Macroscelides micus in the remote deserts of Namibia, south western Africa
It's the third new species of sengi - or elephant shrew - to be found in the wild in the past decade
Creature has rust-coloured fur and is smaller than other elephant shrews
Scientists compared it to other elephant shrews and analysed its genetics to confirm it is a completely new species


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I am not usually into rodents except rabbits and they are iffy at best, but ya gotta love this lil guy..

a reply to: Spider879

So are you saying an elephant is a rodent?

So mice never forget? (I think that's true, mice are sooooo intelligent) Anyway, if the new little guy has a trunk does it use it the same way an elephant does? Thanks.

It has evolved to drink Capri Sun.

I swear, the first thing I thought when I saw the photo was, "I wonder what Arken is going to make of those rocks in the background?"

S&F for that alone.

originally posted by: Aleister
a reply to: Spider879

So are you saying an elephant is a rodent?

So mice never forget? (I think that's true, mice are sooooo intelligent) Anyway, if the new little guy has a trunk does it use it the same way an elephant does? Thanks.

Elephants as we know them today are not rodents,but they are saying this lil guy is related, btw from an evolutionary pov "us" mammals are the children of rodents remember after the great dino-kill off, that's how we emerged,about the trunk the article didn't say,but i'll bet it is used in a similar fashion,if not what's the point.

originally posted by: Snarl
I swear, the first thing I thought when I saw the photo was, "I wonder what Arken is going to make of those rocks in the background?"

S&F for that alone.

You mean the awesome warrior skull behind that uninteresting mouse thing?

a reply to: Spider879

I have thought since I was a young child that the emergence of egg eating rodents was a more plausible explanation for the die off of the dinosaurs. A big meteor smacking the planet probably didn't help. They did not disappear over night. It was a period of decline lasting millions of years.

originally posted by: skunkape23
a reply to: Spider879

I have thought since I was a young child that the emergence of egg eating rodents was a more plausible explanation for the die off of the dinosaurs. A big meteor smacking the planet probably didn't help. They did not disappear over night. It was a period of decline lasting millions of years.

You know what?? that's a great theory and perhaps part of the puzzle the dinos would have had very little defense great observation on your part,you must have spent your child-hood in rural areas.

a reply to: Spider879

Is this a photo from Mars?
Pretty cool either way.

a reply to: skunkape23

I agree with the OP, and ask that you consider opening up a new thread with and for your theory. I've never thought of it, and it makes perfect sense. Birds must have evolved quickly at some point, and maybe they ate the eggs too!

originally posted by: Aleister
a reply to: Spider879

So are you saying an elephant is a rodent?

So mice never forget? (I think that's true, mice are sooooo intelligent) Anyway, if the new little guy has a trunk does it use it the same way an elephant does? Thanks.

No. It's convergent evolution.

Like how placental moles and marsupial moles occupy the same niche and have developed very similar physiological characteristics but these traits evolved independently of one another. The split between placental mammals and marsupials occurred 110 million years or so ago. So true moles are more closely related to elephants (or whales or humans for that matter) than they are to the Australian marsupial moles. Here's some placental mammals and their marsupial analogs.



Well as it turns out, that's not the end of the story — golden moles, which live exclusively in Africa and appear very similar to the Australian moles, are actually part of recently discovered clade called afrotheria:

The afrotherian clade was originally proposed in 1998[1] based on analyses of DNA sequence data. However, previous studies had hinted at the close interrelationships among subsets of endemic African mammals, some of these studies date to the 1920s;[8] there were also sporadic papers in the 1980s[9] and 1990s.[10][11] The core of the Afrotheria consists of the Paenungulata, i.e., elephants, sea cows, and hyraxes, a group with a long history among comparative anatomists.[12][13] Hence, while DNA sequence data have proven essential to infer the existence of the Afrotheria as a whole, and while the Afroinsectiphilia (insectivoran-grade afrotheres including tenrecs, golden moles, sengis, and aardvarks) were not recognized as part of Afrotheria without DNA data, some precedent is found in the comparative anatomical literature for the idea that at least part of this group forms a clade. The Paleocene genus Ocepeia, which is the most completely-known Paleocene African mammal and the oldest afrotherian known from a complete skull, shares similarities with both Paenungulata and Afroinsectiphilia, and may help to characterize the ancestral body type of afrotherians.[14]

Since the 1990s, increasing molecular and anatomical data have been applied to the classification of animals; both types of data support the idea that afrotherian mammals are descended from a single common ancestor to the exclusion of other mammals. On the anatomical side, features shared by most, if not all, afrotheres include high vertebral counts,[7] aspects of placental membrane formation,[15] the shape of the ankle bones,[5][6] and the relatively late eruption of the permanent dentition.[16] The snout is unusually long and mobile in several Afrotherian species.[17] Studies of genomic data, including millions of aligned nucleotides sampled for a growing number of placental mammals, also support Afrotheria as a clade.[18][19]

So here we have 3 separate lineages producing similar animals through convergent evolution. The elephant shrews are afrotherians and are more closely related to elephants than true shrews. Shrews are not rodents by the way, they're members of the order soricomorpha.

originally posted by: Aleister
a reply to: skunkape23

I agree with the OP, and ask that you consider opening up a new thread with and for your theory. I've never thought of it, and it makes perfect sense. Birds must have evolved quickly at some point, and maybe they ate the eggs too!

I may get around to it when I have the time and sobriety. I do know that this little prehistoric bastard was cleaning out my hen house.

Elephants are afraid of rodents. And did they observe the rodent to see if it had the same level of cognition? If all they are comparing is looks that isn't enough. I say its more like a rodent than an elephant.

originally posted by: Dianec
Elephants are afraid of rodents.

Not true. I've seen video of elephants who come upon a mouse purposely put in their path, and, without showing fear, they cautiously walk a long way around them. They just don't want to crush them. So, elderly wives tale aside, instead of fear they show compassion.

a reply to: Aleister

I've only read that they are afraid of them.

Example:

www.discovery.com...

I doubt they would be started and back away to be polite. They see snakes and other critters but do they respond the same to them? It would be interesting to know. No one should think because they're big they shouldn't be afraid. I know some pretty big guys who are completely freaked out by little spiders. I learned a long time ago it had something to do with their trunks.

In any case, I absolutely love elephants. They are my favorite. Gentle for sure but fierce if they absolutely are pushed with no choice. I am grateful for the compassion of the west with making ivory illegal. I can't believe what people do to animals for money and what they condone done to animals for a pair of earrings, an ashtray, etc. The laws give me hope that one day we will see this compassion spread.

a reply to: skunkape23

Oh I love your possum, or is it opossum? Anyway, cute! So is this new species in the OP.

a reply to: Dianec

Good point, about the trunk. I wouldn't want a mouse running into and up my trunk. In the video I saw the elephant didn't show any fear, it just casually walked around the mouse to avoid it - but who knows what it was thinking. Good question, if they avoid snakes and other creatures in their path. Enquiring minds....

originally posted by: Night Star
a reply to: skunkape23

Oh I love your possum, or is it opossum?

Depends on if your from the 'stein' or 'stain' universe. I have always called them possum. Opossum just doesn't roll of the tongue right. This one was particularly mean. He was standing his ground and growling at me. I tried to swipe him away with a beer can and it ripped the can open with it's teeth. I caught it in a live trap and drove him away.