Bioacoustics of Hemicentetes nigriceps

Hemicentetes and Tenrec form a clade, which is sister to a clade of Echinops and Setifer . Despite being distinguished from H. semi- spinosus by craniodental features by P. M. Butler in 1941 and G. E. Dobson in 1882, H. nigriceps was considered a subspecies of H. semispinosus by H. Genest and F. Petter in 1975 and R. Hutterer in 1993, until it was found to occur sympatrically with H. semispinosus by S. M. Goodman and others in 2000. Monotypic. Descriptive notes. Head-body 124-174 mm, ear 15-21 mm, hindfoot 21-25 mm; weight 39-129 g. Highland Streaked Tenrecs have long, pointed snouts and lack external tails. Dorsum has dense, bristly, black fur, with prominent buffy crest of spines on nape, narrow buffy stripe on head, and mid-dorsal and lateral buffy stripes. Long guard hairs are distributed over dorsum, intermixed with sharply pointed spines; those within dark regions of dorsum are dark; those within light stripes are larger, thicker, and light in color; long thin spines form prominent transverse band on nape of neck; and stout, non-detachable, light-colored spines form stridulating organ in posterior mid-dorsal region. There is sharp demarcation along lateral region of head and body between black dorsal and light ventral surfaces; ventral pelage is soft butslightly bristly and buffy in color. Limbs are covered with soft bristly hair, dark buffy brown above and light buffy below. Rhinarium is naked and covered with oval scales. Ears are partially concealed in pelage. Forefeet are broad; first and fifth digits are short, shorter than or just reaching base of proximal digit; second, third and fourth digits are long with long, shallowly curved, stout claws. Hindfeet are moderately broad, with long claws on middle three digits. Skull has elongated rostrum, and teeth are reduced in size, most likely an adaptation to eating relatively soft invertebrates. Dental formula is I 3/3, C 1/1,P 3/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 40.