Adorable New "Elephant Shrew" Species Discovered In Africa

Researchers in a remote corner of Namibia have stumbled upon a previously unknown type of round-eared sengi -- the newest member of a group of adorable-looking mammals called "elephant shrews".

Biologists from the California Academy of Sciences had set out study a known type of elephant shrew in southwestern Africa when they saw one that looked smaller and with a different shade of fur than than others. The team collected a specimen and later confirmed through genetic analysis that it was indeed a new species, according to their study published in the Journal of Mammalogy.

Over the last decade, three other species of sengi have been identified, though this recent find, given the name Macroscelides micus, is the smallest yet, measuring in at just about 3.5 inches long.

Although these animals, found throughout Africa, were originally believed to be part of the shrew family, only likened to elephants because of their long, pointed snouts, though closer examination of their teeth suggests that they are in fact more closely related to pachyderms after all.

Dr. Jack Dumbacher, one of the study's authors, says that this finding confirms that even after more than a century of scouring for new life, there are likely many more animals left to be discovered:

"Genetically, Macroscelides micus is very different from other members of the genus and it's exciting to think that there are still small areas of the world where even the mammal fauna is unknown and waiting to be explored."