On the EDGE

Golden-rumped Elephant ShrewEDGE here stands for “Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered” and is a term that was coined to refer specifically to certain threatened species of animal around the world. They’re not always your big marquee animals (Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!), and a great deal of them will be unfamiliar to you. (I’d not previously encountered the Golden-Rumped Elephant Shrew (Rhynchocyon chrysopygus), and I’ll admit that my life has been all the poorer for not having known about it before now. For a start, it’s soooo cute! Furthermore, it has a golden rump. What’s not to like? Apparently, it is related to an elephant, somewhat distantly. Yes, it has a trunk, but it takes more than that to detemine its relationship to elephants! Update: – Here’s a Wikipedia article on elephant shrews, which could be a starting point for finding out more. The EDGE site has a lot of information too: here.)

That unfamiliarity – blissful ignorance on our part – is part of the motivation. There’s a campaign to highlight them more, and raise both funds and awareness to enable better research and conservation efforts. The EDGE site give a list of 100 mammals, with photographs and information about them. There’s an AP story on the project here, and the EDGE site itself is well worth a visit. You can ask questions. You can help them too. Their stated goals:

The EDGE of Existence programme seeks to:

  • Identify the current status of poorly known and
    possibly extinct EDGE species.
  • Develop and implement conservation measures for
    all EDGE species not currently protected.
  • Support local scientists to research and conserve EDGE species worldwide.

Specifically, we aim to ensure every species in the
Top 100 EDGE Mammals receives conservation attention
within the next 5 years.

-cvj

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7 Responses to On the EDGE

  1. Clifford says:

    The golden rump wins them over in the end. It’s inevitable!

    -cvj

  2. Supernova says:

    I’m smitten! What a sweetie!

  3. spyder says:

    I do have to admit that i my cuteness validator was spiked by that golden rump. Without that, it just wouldn’t have been so attractive.

  4. Clifford says:

    It’s cute. Come on… Let yourself melt a little. 😉

    -cvj

  5. spyder says:

    Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
    Subphylum: Vertebrata
    Class: Mammalia
    Order: Macroscelidea
    Family: Macroscelididae
    Genus: Rhynchocyon
    Species: Rhynchocyon chrysopygus

    But the wikipedia link is supported by the following:
    Once considered a divergent family of the order Insectivora, elephant-shrews are now placed in their own order, the Macroscelidea. Recent evidence suggests that they may belong to a clade of African mammals, the Afrotheria, which also includes hyraxes, elephants, sea cows, aardvarks, golden moles, and tenrecs. Elephant-shrews are a small group, represented by a single family, the Macroscelididae, including 4 genera and 19 living species.

    But “sooo cute”? Oh dear me.

  6. Clifford says:

    Hi Anon,

    I don’t know any more than I said, but I added a wikipedia link to the post, as a starting point. The EDGE site also mentions this relationship too.

    -cvj

  7. Anon says:

    I *demand* more information that this shrew is more related to an elephant than a mouse (say)!!!

    Does it use its “trunk” to feed itself? Enquiring minds must know.