Editing Tenrec (section)

{{Short description|Family of small mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Tenrecidae
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Bartonian|Recent}}<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Martin |last=Pickford |year=2015 |title=Late Eocene Potamogalidae and Tenrecidae (Mammalia) from the Sperrgebiet, Namibia |journal=Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia |volume=16 |pages=114–152 |url=http://www.mme.gov.na/files/publications/407_Comms%20GSN%2016,%202015%20Pickford%20Tenrecoidea,114-152.pdf }}</ref>
| image = Tanrek.jpg
| image_caption = [[Tailless tenrec]] (''Tenrec ecaudatus'')
| taxon = Tenrecidae
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1821
| type_genus = ''[[Tailless tenrec|Tenrec]]''
| type_genus_authority = [[Bernard Germain de Lacépède|Lacépède]], 1799
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
| subdivision = * [[Geogalinae]]
* [[Oryzorictinae]]
* [[Tenrecinae]]
| range_map = Tenrec range.jpg
| range_map_caption = Gray: ''[[Tenrecinae]]'' ; Blue:  ''[[Tenrecinae]]'' and  ''[[Oryzorictinae]]'' ; Red: ''[[Geogalinae]]'' and  ''[[Tenrecinae]]'' ; Purple:  ''[[Geogalinae]]'' , ''[[Oryzorictinae]]'' and  ''[[Tenrecinae]]''
}}
[[File:A tenrec in defensive mode, Horniman Museum, London.JPG|thumb |A [[taxidermy|taxidermy mount]] of a tenrec in defensive mode, [[Horniman Museum and Gardens]], London]]

A '''tenrec''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛ|n|ɹ|ɛ|k}}) is a [[mammal]] belonging to any species within the [[afrotheria]]n [[Family (biology)|family]] '''Tenrecidae''', which is endemic to [[Madagascar]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Olson |first=Link E. |title=Tenrecs |journal=Current Biology |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=R5–R8 |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.015 |pmid=23305671 |year=2013 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2013CBio...23...R5O }}</ref> Tenrecs are a very diverse group, as a result of adaptive radiation, and exhibit [[convergent evolution]],<ref name="olson">{{cite journal | last1=Olson | first1=Link E. | year=2013 | title=Tenrecs | journal=Current Biology | volume=23 | issue=1 | pages=R5–R8 | doi=10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.015 | doi-access=free | pmid=23305671 | bibcode=2013CBio...23...R5O }}</ref> some resemble [[hedgehog]]s, [[shrew]]s, [[opossum]]s, [[rat]]s, and [[mouse|mice]]. They occupy [[Aquatic animal|aquatic]], [[arboreal]], [[Terrestrial animal|terrestrial]], and [[fossorial]] environments. Some of these species, including the [[greater hedgehog tenrec]], can be found in the [[Madagascar dry deciduous forests]]. However, the speciation rate in this group has been higher in [[Madagascar lowland forests|humid forests]].<ref name="Everson2016" />

All tenrecs are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years ago<ref name="Everson2016" /><ref name="Douady2002" /><ref name="Poux2008" /> after [[Oceanic dispersal|rafting]] over from [[Africa]].<ref name="BBC_rafting">{{Cite web | last=Kinver | first=M. | title=Mammals 'floated to Madagascar' | work=BBC News web site | publisher=[[BBC]] | date=2010-01-20 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/green_room/8468163.stm | access-date=2010-01-20}}</ref><ref name="Ali&Huber">{{Cite journal | last=Ali | first=J. R. |author2=Huber, M. | title=Mammalian biodiversity on Madagascar controlled by ocean currents | journal=[[Nature (journal) |Nature]] | volume=463 | issue=4 Feb. 2010 | pages=653–656 | date=2010-01-20 | doi=10.1038/nature08706 | pmid=20090678 | bibcode=2010Natur.463..653A | s2cid=4333977 }}</ref> The split from their closest relatives, African [[otter shrew]]s, is estimated to have occurred about 47–53 million years ago.<ref name="Everson2016">{{cite journal |last1=Everson |first1=K. M. |last2=Soarimalala |first2=V. |last3=Goodman |first3=S. M. |last4=Olson |first4=L. E. |title=Multiple Loci and Complete Taxonomic Sampling Resolve the Phylogeny and Biogeographic History of Tenrecs (Mammalia: Tenrecidae) and Reveal Higher Speciation Rates in Madagascar's Humid Forests |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=65 |issue=5 |year=2016 |pages=890–909 |doi=10.1093/sysbio/syw034 |pmid=27103169 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Douady2002">{{cite journal |last1=Douady |first1=C. J. |last2=Catzeflis |first2=F. |last3=Kao |first3=D. J. |last4=Springer |first4=M. S. |last5=Stanhope |first5=M. J. |title=Molecular Evidence for the Monophyly of Tenrecidae (Mammalia) and the Timing of the Colonization of Madagascar by Malagasy Tenrecs |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=22 |issue=3 |year=2002 |pages=357–363 |doi=10.1006/mpev.2001.1055 |pmid=11884160|bibcode=2002MolPE..22..357D }}</ref><ref name="Poux2008">{{cite journal |last1=Poux |first1=C. |last2=Madsen |first2=O. |last3=Glos |first3=J. |last4=de Jong |first4=W. W. |last5=Vences |first5=M. |title=Molecular phylogeny and divergence times of Malagasy tenrecs: Influence of data partitioning and taxon sampling on dating analyses |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=8 |issue=1 |year=2008 |pages=102 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-8-102 |pmc=2330147 |pmid=18377639 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2008BMCEE...8..102P }}</ref>