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Meaning of "elephant shrew" in the English dictionary

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PRONUNCIATION OF ELEPHANT SHREW

elephant shrew play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF ELEPHANT SHREW

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Elephant shrew is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES ELEPHANT SHREW MEAN IN ENGLISH?

elephant shrew

Elephant shrew

Elephant shrews, or jumping shrews, are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea, whose traditional common English name comes from a fancied resemblance between their long noses and the trunk of an elephant, and an assumed relationship with the shrews in the order Insectivora. It has become plain that the elephant shrews are not to be classified with the superficially similar true shrews, but are in fact more closely related to elephants and their kin within the newly recognized Afrotheria; the biologist Jonathan Kingdon has proposed they instead be called sengis, a term derived from the Bantu languages of Africa. They are widely distributed across the southern part of Africa, and although common nowhere, can be found in almost any type of habitat, from the Namib Desert to boulder-strewn outcrops in South Africa to thick forest. One species, the North African elephant shrew, remains in the semiarid, mountainous country in the far northwest of the continent.

Definition of elephant shrew in the English dictionary

The definition of elephant shrew in the dictionary is any small active African mammal of the family Macroscelididae and order Macroscelidea, having an elongated nose, large ears, and long hind legs.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE ELEPHANT SHREW

elenchus
elenctic
eleoptene
elephant
elephant bird
elephant fish
elephant foot
elephant grass
elephant gun
elephant in the room
elephant seal
elephant´s-ear
elephant´s-foot
elephantiasic
elephantiasis
elephantine
elephantoid
elephants

WORDS THAT END LIKE ELEPHANT SHREW

Andrew
beshrew
brew
common shrew
crew
drew
grew
Hebrew
home brew
home-brew
otter shrew
overthrew
Renfrew
screw
shrew
threw
thumbscrew
tree shrew
water shrew
withdrew

Synonyms and antonyms of elephant shrew in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «elephant shrew» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF ELEPHANT SHREW

Find out the translation of elephant shrew to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of elephant shrew from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «elephant shrew» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

象鼩
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

musaraña elefante
570 millions of speakers

English

elephant shrew
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

हाथी कर्कशा
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الفيل الزبابة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

слон землеройка
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

elefante musaranho
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

হাতি চিত্কার
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

éléphant musaraigne
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Gajah gajah
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Elefantenspitzmaus
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ハネジネズミ
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

코끼리 말괄량이
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Elephant shrew
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

voi chuột chù
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

யானை ஷௌவ்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

हत्ती चिंधी
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Fil sürüncemi
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

toporagno elefante
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

ryjówka słoń
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

слон землерийка
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

elefant scorpie
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

ελέφαντα μέγαιρα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

klaasneus
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

elefanten argbigga
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

elefant spissmus
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of elephant shrew

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «ELEPHANT SHREW»

The term «elephant shrew» is normally little used and occupies the 133.876 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Little used
38
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «elephant shrew» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of elephant shrew
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «elephant shrew».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «ELEPHANT SHREW» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «elephant shrew» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «elephant shrew» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about elephant shrew

EXAMPLES

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «ELEPHANT SHREW»

Discover the use of elephant shrew in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to elephant shrew and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Elephant-Shrew
What will the man whom only Lucy sees reveal about the hidden secrets of the forest?“I want to inspire young readers to learn more about wild Africa,” says Anthony, who has set the book in a beautiful coastal region.
Anthony Irvin, 2010
2
African Insectivora and Elephant-shrews: An Action Plan for ...
Blaclt-and-nilbus elephant -shrew Subfamily: Macroscelidinae Genus: Petrodromus F. letradoaylus Peters, 1844 Four-toed elephant-shrew Genus: Macroscelides M. pmboscideus (Shaw, 1800) [10] Angola, Chad, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique ...
Martin E. Nicoll, Galen B. Rathbun, IUCN/SSC Insectivore, Tree-Shrew, and Elephant-Shrew Specialist Group, 1990
3
Field Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa
The hindlegs and feet are considerably larger than the forelegs and -feet and rapid locomotion is achieved by a series of hops. Four-toed Elephant-shrew Petrodromus tetradactylus Total length 35 cm; tail 16 cm; mass 160-280 g. Round -eared ...
Chris Stuart, Tilde Stuart, 2001
4
The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region
This species is associated in the subregion with denser cover than the bushveld elephant-shrew. They occur in areas where there is a dense grass cover with scrub bush and scattered trees. They use the cover of the underbrush of riparian  ...
J. D. Skinner, Christian T. Chimimba, 2005
5
The Complete Book of Southern African Mammals
Smith's rock elephant shrew, which is predominantly crepuscular, is vigilant of predators when foraging, and makes use of regular pathways. It Smith's rock eiephont shrew uses foot-drumming and scent-marking to communicate. is ...
M. G. L. Mills, Lex Hes, 1997
6
Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology
Size varies: Head and body length and mass range from 95 mm and a maximum 50 g, respectively, in the short-eared elephant shrew (Macroscelides proboscideus) to 315 mm and about 400 g, respectively, in golden-rumped elephant shrews ...
‎2007
7
The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide
Like other elephant shrews, the bushveld elephant shrew (Elephantulus intufi) has a long tongue (shown above) that is able to speedily flick insects into its mouth. Large eyes and ears Four-toed elephant shrew Petrodromus terrar/acty/ us ...
Fred Cooke, 2004
8
Elsevier's Dictionary of Mammals
... Short-snouted Elephant Shrew d Kurznasenelefantenspitzmaus i Macroscelide dal muso corto; Toporagno dal muso corto Elephantulus edwardii Macroscelidea - Macroscelididae e Cape Sengi; Cape Elephant Shrew; Cape Rock Elephant ...
Murray Wrobel, 2006
9
Animal Records
The largest of these is the golden-rumped elephant-shrew (R chrysopygus), which lives in southeastern Kenya. It has a head-body length of 27-31.5 cm (1 O72- MV2 in), a tail length of 23-26.5cm (9-1072 in), and an average adult weight of ...
Mark Carwardine, 2008
10
Mammalogy
FIGURE 8-8 (A) A rufous elephant shrew (Elephantulusrufescens, Macroscelididae). (B) A golden-rumped elephant shrew (Rhyn- chocyon chrysopygus, Macroscelididae). forests of Kenya, where this diurnal animal feeds on a wide variety of ...
Terry Vaughan, James Ryan, Nicholas Czaplewski, 2011

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «ELEPHANT SHREW»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term elephant shrew is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Slide Show: Secret Lives of the Serengeti
Camera-trap photos have revealed the existence of the gray-faced sengi, an elephant shrew found in Tanzania; provided evidence that the ... «The New Yorker, Jun 15»
2
Post-birth placenta eating has no benefits, scientists report
New species of elephant shrew discovered · Mars One moves closer to launching humans to Mars · Heading a soccer ball over time may lead ... «Science Recorder, Jun 15»
3
'Jurassic Park' Redux: 13 Places to Feel Like You're Living the Movie
... the Little Five (buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, ant lion, and rhino beetle), and the all-around impressive number of species: ... «Yahoo Travel, Jun 15»
4
Spare Times for Children for May 15-21
... species like the blobfish, the elephant shrew and the blue-footed booby, using instruments like the stylophone, the claviola and the theremin. «New York Times, May 15»
5
Eyelashes Grow To Just The Right Length To Shield Eyes
The mammals measured included rabbit, goat, elephant, warthog, possum, elephant shrew, Baird's tapir, red kangaroo, leopard and porcupine. «NPR, Feb 15»
6
California Academy of Sciences discovers 221 unknown species
Other new species confirmed by Academy scientists last year include a tiny elephant shrew, 110 species of ants, colorful sea slugs, a ghost fish ... «abc7news.com, Jan 15»
7
Strange But True: Peanut butter can be scary
The elephant shrew is more closely related to the elephant than to the shrew. You may have heard of bridezilla, but what about momzilla? «Naples Daily News, Jan 15»
8
Elephant shrew and sea slugs among 221 new species of animal …
A staggering 221 new species were discovered in 2014 by one US institution alone, including a tiny elephant shrew with a distinctive 'trunk'. «Daily Mail, Dec 14»
9
Abundance of New Species Found in 2014 is Another Nail in Coffin …
... and one tiny mammal – a new species of elephant shrew found in Africa. Dozens of scientists made the discoveries across all five continents, ... «Breitbart News, Dec 14»
10
New Species Galore
This new species of elephant shrew (Macroscelides micus) blends in with the Namib Desert's red soil. GALEN RATHBUN/CALIFORNIA ... «Scientist, Dec 14»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Elephant shrew [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/elephant-shrew>. Apr 2024 ».
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