Potamogalidae
Sign in to savePotamogalidae is the family of otter shrews, a group of semiaquatic riverine afrotherian mammals indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar, from which they are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago. They were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Tenrecomorpha
- Image
- Transactions of the Zoological Society of London (Pl. 1) (7408441066).jpg
Show 1 more fact
- P105
- family
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Morphology
- Extant species
- Phylogeny
- References
Potamogalidae is the family of otter shrews, a group of semiaquatic riverine afrotherian mammals indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa. They are most closely related to the tenrecs of Madagascar, from which they are thought to have split about 47–53 million years ago. They were formerly considered a subfamily of Tenrecidae.
All otter shrews are carnivorous, preying on any aquatic animal they can find with their sensitive whiskers, particularly insects. As their common name suggests, they bear a strong, but superficial resemblance to true otters to which they are not closely related, nor are they closely related to true shrews. They move through the water by undulating their tail in a side-to-side motion similar to the motions made by a crocodile swimming.