Senġi

Is-Senġijiet  huma mammiferi insettivori Afrikani ta' daqs żgħir. Dawn jagħmlu parti mill-familja Macroscelididae, fl-ordni Macroscelidea. L-isem senġi gej minn lingwi Bantu Afrikani).

Huma mifruxin sew miż-żona subsaħarjana lejn in-nofsinhar tal-Afrika u għalkemm m' huma komuni imkien, kważi tista' issibhom f' kull tip ta' ambjent; mid-deżert tan-Namibja, għall-foresti tal-Afrika ta' isfel. Is-Senġi tal-Afrika ta' Fuq kif jghid l-isem komuni tiegħu huwa l-unika speċi li jgħix fl-ambjent xott tal-pajjiżi fil-Majjistral tal-kontinent Afrikan.

## Deskrizzjoni

It-18-il speċi jvarjaw fid-daqs bejn wieħed u ieħor minn 100 millimetru sa ftit aktar minn 300 millimetru u jiżnu minn ftit anqas minn 50 gramma għal ftit aktar minn 700 gramma. Kollha kemm huma jimxu fuq erba' saqajn li huma pjuttost twal għal ġisimhom u għalkemm it-tul ta' mnieħirhom ivarja minn speċi għall-ohra, kollha kapaċi jilwu t-tromba jew il-proboxxidi 'l hemm u 'l hawn waqt it-tfittxija għall-ikel. 

## Dieta

Il-parti l-kbira tad-dieta tagħhom tikkonsisti minn insetti, dud u brimb li jsibu mal-art qalb il-weraq.

## Klassifikazzjoni
Fil-passat is-senġijiet kienu, ikklassifikati fl-ordni Insectivora flimkien mal-ġriedem ta' geddumhom twil u l-qniefed, ikkunsidrati bħala relatati fil-bogħod mal-Ungulati, miġburin fi grupp flimkien mat-tupaji u meqjusin parti mill-ordni Lagomorpha mal-fniek, liebri u l-piki. Madankollu, evidenzi molekolari reċenti, b' saħħa jissapportjaw is-superordni Afrotheria li jaqqagħad flimkien, it-tenreki u t-talpi dehbin ma' ċerti ungulati jew mammiferi li xi darba kienu meqjusin ungulati li jinkludu l-iraċi, l-iljunfanti, il-baqar tal-baħar u l-oritteropi, kif ukoll is-senġijiet.

Instabu numru ta' speċijiet fossili, kollha kemm huma mil-kontinent Afrikan. Uħud, bħal *[[Myohyrax]]*, tant kienu simili tal-iraċi li għal bidu kienu identifikati ħażin bħala tali, filwaqt li oħrajn, bħal pereżempju *[[Mylomygale]]* kienu relativament qishom gerriema. Dawn il-forom kienu kollha estinti sal-Plejstoċen. 

Senġijiet hemm madwar 19-il speċi mqasmin ma' 4 ġeneri u 1 minnhom huwa monotipiku.

* Ordni Macroscelidea
** Familja Macroscelididae
*** Sottofamilja Macroscelidinae
**** Ġeneru *[[Elephantulus]]*
***** Senġi ta' wiċċu qasir, *[[Elephantulus brachyrhynchus]]*
***** Senġi ta' Kap, *[[Elephantulus edwardii]]*
***** Senġi ta' saqajħ skuri, *[[Elephantulus fuscipes]]*
***** Senġi skur, *[[Elephantulus fuscus]]*
***** Senġi tal-buxxveld, *[[Elephantulus intufi]]*
***** Senġi tal-blat tal-Lvant, *[[Elephantulus myurus]]*
***** Senġi tal-blat tal-Karù, *[[Elephantulus pilicaudus]]*
***** Senġi tas-Somalja, *[[Elephantulus revoili]]*
***** Senġi tal-Afrika ta' Fuq, *[[Elephantulus rozeti]]*
***** Senġi ħamrani, *[[Elephantulus rufescens]]*
***** Senġi tal-blat tal-Punent, *[[Elephantulus rupestris]]*
**** Ġeneru *[[Macroscelides]]*
***** Senġi ta' widnejħ tondi tan-Namib, *[[Macroscelides flavicaudatus]]*
***** Senġi ta' widnejħ tondi ta' Etendeka, *[[Macroscelides micus]]*
***** Senġi ta' widnejħ tondi tal-Karù, *[[Macroscelides proboscideus]]*
**** Ġeneru *[[Petrodromus]]*
***** Senġi ta' erbat iswaba, *[[Petrodromus tetradactylus]]*
***Sottofamilja Rhynchocyoninae 
**** Ġeneru *[[Rhynchocyon]]*
***** Senġi ta' taħt dahru dehebi, *[[Rhynchocyon chrysopygus]]*
***** Senġi ċċangjat, *[[Rhynchocyon cirnei]]*
***** Senġi iswed u aħmar, *[[Rhynchocyon petersi]]*
***** Senġi ta' wiċċu griż. *[[Rhynchocyon udzungwensis]]*

## Referenzi
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*Murphy WJ, Eizirik E, Johnson WE, Zhang YP, Ryder OA, O'Brien SJ. Molecular phylogenetics and the origins of placental mammals. Nature. 2001 Feb 1;409(6820):614-8.
*Tabuce R, Marivaux L, Adaci M, Bensalah M, Hartenberger JL, Mahboubi M, Mebrouk F, Tafforeau P, Jaeger JJ.  Early Tertiary mammals from North Africa reinforce the molecular Afrotheria clade.  Proc Biol Sci. 2007 May 7;274(1614):1159-66.
*Andanje, S., B. R. Agwanda, G. W. Ngaruiya, R. Amin, and G. B. Rathbun. 2010. Sengi (elephant-shrew) observations from northern coastal Kenya. Journal of East African Natural History 99:1-8. 
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*Grossman, A., and P. A. Holroyd. 2009. Miosengi butleri, gen. et sp. nov., (Marcoscelidea) from the Kalodirr Member, Lothidok Formation, early Miocene of Kenya. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29:957-960. 
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*Holroyd, P.A. 2010. Macroscelidea. In Sanders, W.J. and Werdelin, L. (eds.), Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, USA. 
*Horst, C. J. van der. 1946. Some remarks on the biology of reproduction in the female of Elephantulus, the holy animal of set. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 31:181-199. 
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*Olbricht, G. 2008. Aspects of the reproductive biology of sengis (Macroscelidea) in general and the postnatal development of the short-eared sengi (Macroscelides proboscideus) in particular. Dissertation. University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany. 
*Oxenham, K. H., and M. Perrin. 2009. The spatial organization of the four-toed elephant-shrew (Petrodromus tetradactylus) in Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. African Zoology 44:171-180.
*Perrin, M.R. 1995a. Comparative aspects of the metabolism and thermal biology of elephant-shrews (Macroscelidea). Mammal Review 25:61-78. 
*Perrin, M. R. (editor). 1995b. The Biology of Elephant-shrews - A Symposium Held During the 6th International Theriological Congress, Sydney, 5 July 1993. Mammal Review, Vol. 25, No. 1 and 2. 100 pp. 
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*Sauer, E. G. F. 1973. Zum sozialverhalten der kurzohrigen elefantenspitzmaus, Macroscelides proboscideus. Zeitschrift fur Saugetierkunde 38:65-97. 
*Schubert, M., C. Schradin, H. G. Rodel, N. Pillay, and D. Ribble. 2009. Male mate guarding in a socially monogamous mammal, the round-eared sengi: on costs and trade-offs. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 64:257-264. 
*Seiffert, E. R. 2007. A new estimate of afrotherian phylogeny based on simultaneous analysis of genomic, morphological, and fossil evidence. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7:224:13 pp. 
*Smit, H. A., T. J. Robinson, J. Watson, and B. Jansen van Vuuren. 2008. A new species of elephant-shrew (Afrotheria: Macroscelidea: Elephantulus) from South Africa. Journal of Mammalogy 89:1257-1269. 
*Spinks, A. C., and M. R. Perrin. 1995. The digestive tract of Macroscelides proboscideus and the effects of diet quality on gut dimensions. South African Journal of Zoology 30:33-36. 
*Springer, M. S., M. J. Stanhope, O. Madsen, and W. W. De Jong. 2004. Molecules consolidate the placental mammal tree. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 19:430-438. 
*Tripp, H.R.H. 1971. Reproduction in elephant-shrews (Macroscelididae) with special reference to ovulation and implantation. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 26:149-159. 
*Woodall, P. F. 1995. The male reproductive system and the phylogeny of elephant-shrews (Macroscelidea). Mammal Review 25:87-93. 
*Woodall, P. F., and G. J. Currie. 1989. Food consumption, assimilation and rate of food passage in the Cape Rock Elephant Shrew, Elephantulus edwardii (Macroscelidea, Macroscelidinae). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 92A:75-79.

## Ħoloq esterni
*Vidjo fuq BBC.
*Senġi: Taqsira mill-Fondazzjoni Afrikana tal-Ħajja Selvaġġa u r-Rettili
*L-Akkademja tax-Xjenzi ta' Kalifornja: Senġi
*Speċi ġodda ta' senġi skoperti