Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

There are two species in the genus Hemi­cen­tetes, H. semi­spinosus and H. ni­gri­ceps; both are found only on Mada­gas­car. Low­land streaked ten­recs (H. semi­spinosus) are found in the rain­forests on the east side of the is­land and high­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps) are found in humid for­est and plateau sa­vanna bound­ary habi­tat in the cen­tral up­land por­tion of Mada­gas­car. (Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996)

• Biogeographic Regions
• ethiopian
  • native

• Other Geographic Terms
• island endemic

Habi­tat

Low­land streaked ten­recs (H. semi­spinosus) are found in trop­i­cal rain­for­est habi­tats while high­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps) are found in both trop­i­cal rain­for­est and sa­vanna habi­tats. Their ranges were not thought to over­lap, but they were found co­ex­ist­ing in the widely var­ied habi­tat of Ma­hatsinjo For­est in 2000, which led re­searchers to be­lieve that they were sep­a­rate species rather than sub­species. (Good­man, et al., 2000; Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2007)

• Habitat Regions
• tropical
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• rainforest

• Other Habitat Features
• agricultural

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Low­land streaked ten­recs (H. semi­spinosus) have black and yel­low quills cov­er­ing their bod­ies and have four pri­mary lon­gi­tu­di­nal yel­low stripes. One of these yel­low stripes is found down the me­dian of the ros­trum and the other three are found on the body. Of the stripes found on the body, two are found down the mid­dle of the sides and the third is found down the mid­dle of the dor­sum. High­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps) have black and white quills and have a sim­i­lar striped pat­tern, but there is no stripe on the ros­trum. The func­tion of the black and white pat­tern may be to mimic ju­ve­nile Ten­rec ecau­da­tus since the par­ents of this species are known to be ag­gres­sively pro­tec­tive. The strip­ing pat­terns of both species may have de­vel­oped as a type of cam­ou­flage while for­ag­ing. Both species have barbed de­tach­able quills to use as a de­fense mech­a­nism; these quills cover a woolly un­der­fur. A stridu­la­tion organ con­sist­ing of sev­eral of these quills is also pre­sent, and when the quills are rubbed to­gether they emit a high-pitched sound which is hy­poth­e­sized to be a source of com­mu­ni­ca­tion among in­di­vid­u­als. A tail is ab­sent in both species, and body lengths av­er­age 140 mm. Body weights range from 80 to 150 g in high­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps), mak­ing them slightly smaller than low­land streaked ten­recs, whose body weight ranges from 125 to 280 g. A cloaca is pre­sent for re­pro­duc­tion, uri­na­tion, and defe­ca­tion, and both species have za­lamb­dodont mo­lars. The spinal columns in­clude an un­usu­ally large num­ber of lum­bar ver­te­brae (20 to 21 ver­te­brae). (Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2007; Symonds, 2005)

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

• Range mass

  125 to 280 g

  4.41 to 9.87 oz

• Average length

  140 mm

  5.51 in

• Average basal metabolic rate

  0.38 W

  AnAge

Re­pro­duc­tion

Fe­males will also erect their quills to­ward a male if they are not re­pro­duc­tively re­cep­tive and will stick spines in the male’s gen­i­tals; males have been known to fight among one an­other if fe­males are pre­sent. Dur­ing courtship the male ap­proaches the fe­male hiss­ing with his snout in the air. If ac­cepted, the male will then nose the fe­male around the neck area fol­lowed by nos­ing her in the cloaca while the fe­male then grabs his snout with her jaws. (Gould and Eisen­berg, 1966; Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2007; Symonds, 2005)

Cop­u­la­tion oc­curs dur­ing Mada­gas­car’s rainy sea­son be­tween No­vem­ber and May for both Hemi­cen­tetes species and ovu­la­tion only oc­curs after cop­u­la­tion. If win­ter con­di­tions are ab­sent, breed­ing can po­ten­tially occur year-round. How­ever, fe­males are only fer­tile up to a year after they are born. Av­er­age ges­ta­tion takes 55 to 58 days. The av­er­age lit­ter size is 6.3 for low­land streaked ten­recs (H. semi­spinosus) and 1.3 for high­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps). Lit­ter size in­creases in cap­tiv­ity for both species. Low­land streaked ten­recs have as many as 11 off­spring in cap­tiv­ity and high­land streaked ten­recs have given birth to a max­i­mum of 4. Young streaked ten­recs weigh about 11 g and are 55 to 67 mm in length. By day 25, both species are weaned; adult­hood is reached by day 40 (ma­tu­rity in other spiny ten­rec species [Setifer set­so­sus and Echinops telfairi] doesn’t occur for 6 months). Fe­males can be re­pro­duc­tively ac­tive by day 25 in low­land streaked ten­recs; they may be the only ten­rec that can breed in the same sea­son in which they were born. They have an el­e­vated rest­ing meta­bolic rate dur­ing re­pro­duc­tion. (Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2003; Stephen­son, 2007)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• seasonal breeding
• year-round breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• induced ovulation
• viviparous

• Breeding interval

  Lowland streaked tenrecs usually breed once a year, but can sometimes breed twice within the same season.

• Breeding season

  Breeding occurs between November and May.

• Range number of offspring

  1 to 11

• Average number of offspring

  6.3

• Average number of offspring

  4

  AnAge

• Range gestation period

  55 to 58 days

• Average weaning age

  25 days

• Average time to independence

  40 days

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  25 days

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
  Sex: female

  35 days

  AnAge

Most in­for­ma­tion on parental care in streaked ten­recs is based on cap­tive an­i­mals. In prepa­ra­tion for birth, a preg­nant fe­male will use her snout as a spade to clear away a de­pres­sion in the ground within the bur­row. When the young are born, the fe­male will help clear away tis­sue from the snout area so that they are able to breathe. The male will help pro­tect the young by al­low­ing them to hud­dle around him. The fe­male takes care of both clean­ing and re­plac­ing the lin­ing in the nest. If the off­spring wan­der too far from the nest, fe­males will carry them back to the nest. Moth­ers main­tain con­tact with their off­spring while for­ag­ing by using both smell and the stridu­la­tion organ after the stridu­la­tion organ starts work­ing in the young. Off­spring are born with­out spines, but begin to de­velop them within the first 24 hours of life. (Gould and Eisen­berg, 1966; Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996)

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Low­land streaked ten­recs (Hemi­cen­tetes semi­spinosus) live as long as 30 months in cap­tiv­ity and high­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps) up to 3 years. How long ei­ther species lives in the wild is un­known. (Stephen­son, 2007)

• Range lifespan
  Status: captivity

  30 (high) months

• Average lifespan
  Status: captivity

  2.6 years

  Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

• Average lifespan
  Status: wild

  2.7 years

  Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Be­hav­ior

Both Hemi­cen­tetes species go into tor­por, with a higher like­li­hood of en­ter­ing the tor­por phase in cap­tiv­ity than in the wild. Low­land streaked ten­recs (H. semi­spinosus) are more likely to come out of tor­por dur­ing the win­ter sea­son for for­ag­ing than are high­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps). In­ter­rupt­ing tor­por may ac­tu­ally in­crease the pro­duc­tiv­ity of low­land streaked ten­recs. High­land streaked ten­recs focus on noc­tur­nal ac­tiv­ity while low­land streaked ten­recs are mainly ac­tive through­out the day. Bur­rows of low­land streaked ten­recs occur in pri­mary or sec­ondary forests and may be oc­cu­pied by ei­ther one in­di­vid­ual or as many as 23 dur­ing the breed­ing sea­son. High­land streaked ten­recs make shal­lower bur­rows than low­land streaked ten­recs on for­est fringes and near cul­ti­vated fields. A leaf plug seals the hole of both species’ bur­rows. Bur­rows are likely used to help ther­moreg­u­late and to avoid preda­tors. (Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son and Racey, 1994; Stephen­son, 2007; Symonds, 2005)

• Key Behaviors
• terricolous
• fossorial
• diurnal
• motile
• sedentary
• hibernation
• social

Home Range

Home range sizes of streaked ten­recs are not re­ported in the lit­er­a­ture.

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

These ten­recs erect spines on the head while mov­ing the head up and down repet­i­tively if the an­i­mal is dis­turbed. This is how an an­i­mal can im­pale a po­ten­tial enemy or preda­tor with quills. If a dis­tur­bance con­tin­ues, stamp­ing of the forefeet may occur as well as rush­ing at the dis­tur­bance; even bright light has been known to bring on these re­ac­tions. Males may fight over fe­males by bit­ing each other, head-butting, or grap­pling, but they are gen­er­ally docile. Head-butting is ex­tremely use­ful dur­ing scuf­fles over mates due to an en­larged frontalis mus­cle on the fore­head that in­creases mo­bil­ity of the fa­cial spines. Fe­males also are non-ag­gres­sive and usu­ally just try to avoid each other. Nose-touch­ing is a com­mon mode of in­ter­ac­tion be­tween in­di­vid­u­als. When in­tro­duced to a new lo­ca­tion, streaked ten­recs re­peat­edly use an ex­plicit area as a la­trine and will some­times mark new bur­rows with feces. (Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2003; Stephen­son, 2007; Symonds, 2005)

A stridu­la­tion organ con­sist­ing of 7 to 16 spe­cial­ized spines is found in both species (H. semi­spinosus and H. ni­gri­ceps). When the tips of these spines are rubbed to­gether rapidly they pro­duce high-fre­quency sounds that are thought to allow com­mu­ni­ca­tion be­tween mem­bers of for­ag­ing groups. These sounds might also be used as a preda­tor warn­ing de­vice. Tongue clicks are used as well and may be a pos­si­ble means of echolo­ca­tion, but fur­ther stud­ies should be con­ducted to see whether or not true echolo­ca­tion is used. Chat­ter­ing and/or squeak­ing sounds are emit­ted when the an­i­mal is dis­turbed which some­times oc­curs with a low buzzing which hap­pens when quills begin to rise as a re­ac­tion to being upset. Scent-mark­ing has also been ob­served to mark ter­ri­to­ries in some in­di­vid­u­als. (Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Symonds, 2005)

• Communication Channels
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

• Other Communication Modes
• scent marks

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• ultrasound
• chemical

Food Habits

Streaked ten­recs (H. semi­spinosus and H. ni­gri­ceps) are al­most ex­clu­sively ver­miv­o­rous (worm-eat­ing), but other avail­able in­ver­te­brates may also be eaten. They some­times stamp on the ground with the forepaws, which may in­crease earth­worm ac­tiv­ity. For­ag­ing in high­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps) seems to occur es­pe­cially in or around rice pad­dies and man­ioc fields. (Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2003; Symonds, 2005)

• Primary Diet
• carnivore
  • vermivore

• Animal Foods
• insects
• terrestrial non-insect arthropods
• terrestrial worms

Pre­da­tion

Both species (H. semi­spinosus and H. ni­gri­ceps) are the nat­ural prey of Dumeril's boas (Acran­tophis dumer­illi), Mala­gasy ring-tailed mon­gooses (Ga­lidia el­e­gans), Mala­gasy fos­sas (Cryp­to­procta ferox) and Mala­gasy civets (Fossa fos­sana). Hu­mans have also been known to cap­ture and kill streaked ten­recs, both by hand and with dogs (pers. obs.). Streaked ten­recs are cryp­ti­cally col­ored and vig­i­lant to avoid being no­ticed by preda­tors. Their spines and use of bur­rows also helps to pro­tect them from pre­da­tion. (Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2007)

• Anti-predator Adaptations
• cryptic

• Known Predators

  • Dumeril's boas (Acrantophis dumerili)
  • Malagasy ring-tailed mongooses (Galidia elegans)
  • Malagasy fossas (Cryptoprocta ferox)
  • Malagasy civets (Fossa fossana)
  • humans (Homo sapiens)

Ecosys­tem Roles

Streaked ten­recs are im­por­tant as preda­tors of worms in their na­tive Mala­gasy habi­tats. A le­sion on a low­land streaked ten­rec in­di­vid­ual led to the dis­cov­ery of a new species of mi­crosporid­ian fungi. (Vavra, et al., 2006)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Other ten­recs such as Setifer se­to­sus and Ten­rec ecau­da­tus have been pro­posed to be raised as ‘mini-live­stock’ for human con­sump­tion, so it is pos­si­ble that both high­land (H. semi­spinosus) and low­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps) could be looked upon as an ex­otic game meat. (Harduin, 1995)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

High­land streaked ten­recs (H. ni­gri­ceps) are known to har­bor an­ti­bod­ies for bubonic plague, so it seems likely that low­land streaked ten­recs (H. semi­spinosus) might also have these an­ti­bod­ies and could be a po­ten­tial car­rier. (Riley and Chomel, 2005)

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Hemi­cen­tetes semi­spinosus is listed as a species of least con­cern by IUCN due to their wide­spread dis­tri­b­u­tion, high abun­dance, and high tol­er­ance to areas with a high abun­dance of hu­mans. Hemi­cen­tetes semi­spinosus also oc­curs in nu­mer­ous pro­tected re­serves and na­tional parks.

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern
  More information

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  No special status

Other Com­ments

Hemi­cen­tetes ni­gri­ceps was once con­sid­ered a sub­species of Hemi­cen­tetes semi­spinosus. While many au­thors now rec­og­nize that they are sep­a­rate species, some au­thors still be­lieve H. ni­gri­ceps to be a sub­species (Gould and Eisen­berg, 1966; Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2003; Stephen­son, 2007; Symonds, 2005)

Both high­land (H. ni­gri­ceps) and low­land (H. sem­spinosus) streaked ten­recs have 38 chro­mo­somes. Pit fall traps are com­monly used to catch both species. Low­land streaked ten­recs are also miss­ing the 3rd trochanter on the hindlimbs and have a larger teres major mus­cle on the upper back than other ten­recs. Both streaked ten­rec species also have ex­tremely low rest­ing meta­bolic rates com­pared to sim­i­lar sized eu­the­ri­ans. (Buf­fen­stein and Salton, 2003; Endo, et al., 2006; Mar­shall and Eisen­berg, 1996; Stephen­son, 2003)

Con­trib­u­tors

Tanya Dewey (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Katie Kokx (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Alaska Fair­banks, Link E. Olson (ed­i­tor, in­struc­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Alaska Fair­banks.

Ref­er­ences

Buf­fen­stein, R., J. Salton. 2003. Field ther­moreg­u­la­tory pro­files in ten­recs from the rain­for­est and dry for­est of Mada­gas­car. In­te­gra­tive and Com­par­a­tive Bi­ol­ogy, 43: 1041.

Endo, H., T. Yonezawa, F. Rako­ton­dra­parany, M. Sasaki, M. Hasegawa. 2006. The adap­ta­tional strate­gies of the hindlimb mus­cles in the Ten­re­ci­dae species in­clud­ing the aquatic web-footed ten­rec (Limno­gale mer­gu­lus). An­nals of Anatomy, 188: 383-390.

Good­man, S., J. Duchemin, J. Du­plantier, D. Rako­ton­dravony, V. Soari­malala. 2000. Syn­topic oc­cur­rence of Hemi­cen­tetes semi­spinosus and H. ni­gri­ceps (Lipo­ty­phla: Ten­re­ci­dae) on the Cen­tral High­lands of Mada­gas­car. Mam­malia, 64: 113-116.

Gould, E., J. Eisen­berg. 1966. Notes on the bi­ol­ogy of the Ten­re­ci­dae. Jour­nal of Mam­mal­ogy, 47: 660-686.

Harduin, J. 1995. Minilive­stock: from gath­er­ing to con­trolled pro­duc­tion. Bio­di­ver­sity and Con­ser­va­tion, 4: 220-232.

Mar­shall, C., J. Eisen­berg. 1996. Hemi­cen­tetes semi­spinosus. The Amer­i­can So­ci­ety of Mam­mal­o­gists, 541: 1-4.

Riley, P., B. Chomel. 2005. Hedge­hog zoonoses. Emerg­ing In­fec­tious Dis­eases, 11: 1-5.

Stephen­son, P. 2003. Hemi­cen­tetes, Streaked Ten­recs. Pp. 1281-1283 in S Good­man, J Ben­stead, eds. The Nat­ural His­tory of Mada­gas­car. Chicago and Lon­don: Uni­ver­sity of Chicago Press.

Stephen­son, P. 2007. Species pro­file: streaked ten­recs, Hemi­cen­tetes. Afrother­ian Con­ser­va­tion Newslet­ter, 5: 1-3.

Stephen­son, P., P. Racey. 1994. Sea­sonal vari­a­tion in rest­ing meta­bolic rate and body tem­per­a­ture of streaked ten­recs, Hemi­cen­tetes ni­gri­ceps and H. semi­spinosus (In­sec­tivora: Ten­re­ci­dae). Jour­nal of Zo­ol­ogy, 232: 285-294.

Symonds, M. 2005. Phy­logeny and life his­to­ries of the ‘In­sec­tivora’: con­tro­ver­sies and con­se­quences. Bi­o­log­i­cal Re­views, 80: 93-128.

Vavra, J., A. Horak, D. Modry, J. Lukes, E. Koudela. 2006. Tra­chipleistophora ex­ten­rec n. sp. a new mi­crosporid­ian (Fungi : Mi­crosporidia) in­fect­ing mam­mals. Jour­nal of Eu­kary­otic Mi­cro­bi­ol­ogy, 53: 464-476.