Third Tuesday 2018-03: Lowland Streaked Tenrec Event Cache

The lowland streaked tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus) is a small tenrec found in tropical lowland rain forest, in the northern and eastern parts of Madagascar.

It is a small animal, with a long snout and limbs, and a vestigial tail. Pelage black with yellow longitudinal stripes dorsally, light beneath; scattered quills, some barbed and detachable. The head and body are 12.2–16.5 cm (4.8–6.5 in) in length. The weight is about 200 grams (7 oz).

It is active during day and night, Their diet is made up primarily of earthworms. However, they will sometimes prey on other invertebrates as well. They may be seen stamping their feet on the ground with their fore-paws, this is believed to increase earthworm activity for easier foraging. Most tenrecs possess a long snout for poking around in the ground to find their food. They are also capable of eating worms and fruits. Some species of tenrecs live in water and eat small fish and even frogs.

If threatened by a predator (most commonly a fossa or Malagasy mongoose), a streaked tenrec erects the barbed quills on its back and on the crest around its head, pointing them completely forward, and drives them in to the attacker's nose or paws with body and head movements. The unbarbed quills are clustered in the middle of the back, and produce a faint chattering sound when vibrated, and are used to communicate within family groups.

The streaked tenrec is the only mammal known to use stridulation (the act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts) for generating sound, a method more commonly associated with insects and snakes.