It is hard to guess what a Rufous elephant shrew weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Rufous elephant shrew (Elephantulus rufescens) on average weights 52 grams (0.11 lbs).
The Rufous elephant shrew is from the family Macroscelididae (genus: Elephantulus). It is usually born with about 10 grams (0.02 lbs). They can live for up to 6 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 25 cm (0′ 10″). Usually, Rufous elephant shrews have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The rufous elephant shrew, rufous sengi or East African long-eared elephant-shrew (Elephantulus rufescens) is a species of elephant shrew in the family Macroscelididae. Found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Animals of the same family as a Rufous elephant shrew
We found other animals of the Macroscelididae family:
- Somali elephant shrew with a weight of 32 grams
- Four-toed elephant shrew with a weight of 201 grams
- Black and rufous elephant shrew with a weight of 423 grams
- Macroscelides proboscideus with a weight of 38 grams
- North African elephant shrew with a weight of 43 grams
- Bushveld elephant shrew with a weight of 48 grams
- Checkered elephant shrew with a weight of 424 grams
- Dusky-footed elephant shrew with a weight of 57 grams
- Golden-rumped elephant shrew with a weight of 535 grams
- Western rock elephant shrew with a weight of 65 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Rufous elephant shrew
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Elephantulus rufescens:
- Jamaican fruit bat bringing 42 grams to the scale
- Rupp’s mouse bringing 49 grams to the scale
- Chibchan water mouse bringing 50 grams to the scale
- Eastern broad-toothed field mouse bringing 43 grams to the scale
- Melanomys robustulus bringing 53 grams to the scale
- Medje free-tailed bat bringing 42 grams to the scale
- Euryoryzomys macconnelli bringing 62 grams to the scale
- Short-snouted elephant shrew bringing 45 grams to the scale
- Malayan water shrew bringing 55 grams to the scale
- Indonesian short-nosed fruit bat bringing 59 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Rufous elephant shrew
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Rufous elephant shrew:
- Luzon hairy-tailed rat with a size of 20.4 cm (0′ 9″)
- Magellanic tuco-tuco with a size of 21.6 cm (0′ 9″)
- Buffy-tufted marmoset with a size of 24 cm (0′ 10″)
- Masoala fork-marked lemur with a size of 26.1 cm (0′ 11″)
- Isabel naked-tailed rat with a size of 27 cm (0′ 11″)
- Mexican gray squirrel with a size of 25.2 cm (0′ 10″)
- White-footed tamarin with a size of 24 cm (0′ 10″)
- Derby’s woolly opossum with a size of 23.1 cm (0′ 10″)
- Great flying fox with a size of 27.9 cm (0′ 11″)
- Ceram fruit bat with a size of 20.2 cm (0′ 8″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Rufous elephant shrew
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Rufous elephant shrew:
- Mountain tapir
- Urial
- Tickell’s bat
- South African springhare
- Javan rusa
- Bohor reedbuck
- Miniopterus macrocneme
- Takin
- Jentink’s duiker
- Asinus
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Rufous elephant shrew
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Rufous elephant shrew:
- Peters’s climbing rat with an average maximal age of 5.33 years
- Otter civet with an average maximal age of 5 years
- North African hedgehog with an average maximal age of 7 years
- Meadow jumping mouse with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Rufous horseshoe bat with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Hispid cotton rat with an average maximal age of 5.17 years
- African striped weasel with an average maximal age of 5.17 years
- Bahamian hutia with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Forest giant squirrel with an average maximal age of 5.08 years
- Abbott’s duiker with an average maximal age of 5.42 years