at 35°C and neither become hyperthermic but they balance the heat offload by increasing the EWL (evaporative water loss). Feeding habits Elephant shrews mainly eat insects, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and earthworms. An elephant shrew uses its nose to find prey and uses its tongue to flick small food into its mouth, much like an anteater. Eating large prey can pose a challenge; an elephant shrew struggling with an earthworm must first pin its prey to the ground with a forefoot. Then, turning its head to one side, it chews pieces off with its cheek teeth, much like a dog chewing a bone. This is a sloppy process, and many small pieces of worm drop to the ground; these are simply flicked up with the tongue. Some elephant shrews also feed on small amounts of plant matter, especially new leaves, seeds, and small fruits. Evolution A number of fossil species are known, all from Africa. They were separate from the similar-appearing order Leptictida. A considerable diversification of macroscelids occurred in the Paleogene period. Some, such as Myohyrax, were so similar to hyraxes that they were initially included with that group, while others, such as Mylomygale, were relatively rodent-like. These unusual forms all died out by the Pleistocene. Although macroscelids were classified in the past with many groups, often on the basis of superficial characteristics, considerable morphological and molecular evidence places them within Afrotheria, at the base of Afroinsectivora. In terms of timing, the divergence between macroscelids and afrosoricidans is thought to have occurred roughly 57.5 million years (Ma) ago, in the late Paleocene, while the diversification of extant macroscelids apparently began when the Rhynchocyon lineage split off about 33 Ma ago, in the early Oligocene. Elephantulus is considered to have separated from Macroscelidini later in the Oligocene, about 28.5 Ma ago. Phylogeny Classification The 20 species of elephant shrew are placed in six genera, three of which are monotypic: ORDER MACROSCELIDEA Family Macroscelididae Genus Elephantulus Short-snouted elephant shrew, E. brachyrhynchus Cape elephant shrew, E. edwardii Dusky-footed elephant shrew, E. fuscipes Dusky elephant shrew, E. fuscus Bushveld elephant shrew, E. intufi Eastern rock elephant shrew, E. myurus Karoo rock elephant shrew, E. pilicaudus Western rock elephant shrew, E. rupestris Genus Galegeeska Somali elephant shrew, G. revoilii Rufous elephant shrew, G. rufescens Genus Macroscelides Namib round-eared sengi, M. flavicaudatus Etendeka round-eared sengi, M. micus Round-eared elephant shrew, M. proboscideus Genus Petrodromus Four-toed elephant