African Insectivores | Afroinsectiphilia
The African Insectivores, or Afroinsectiphilia, is a proposed subdivision of insectivores native to the African continent. The proposal includes otter shrews, golden moles, tenrecs, and even aardvarks. Many species are omnivores and still possess most of their primitive features. Many are also small, for example, the golden mole, and are characterized by small eyes and ears, long snouts, clawed toes, and primitive teeth. They rely mostly on their hearing and smelling senses, as their touch and vision are not well-developed. Afroinsectiphilia prefers forests, mountainous terrains, or deserts with many living a solitary life. Females give birth to live young ones.
Most shrews have poor vision because they have small eyes that are sometimes covered by skin. But their sense of hearing and smell is excellent. Even so, the unique thing about them (or in certain species) is that they can echolocate. This is a technique they use to locate food other than determining or interpreting what is happening in their surroundings.
No, but their vision isn’t good because they are colorblind and nearsighted. Even so, these small eyes are very good at detecting light. Moles also have good smelling abilities and possess ears that are nearly invincible. These features make them well suited to the environment they live in.
We can find the tenrec in Madagascar. It resembles a hedgehog because of its size, quills, and excellent climbing skills, but is more related to elephants and aardvarks. This petite size and physical profile may make you think of them as good pets. However, they are not that friendly and they can bite hard if manhandled.
