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It may seem hard to believe that such an unusual looking animal has remained hidden for so long. 世界上存在如此相貌罕见而不为人知的动物，这似乎有点难以置信。 But scientists have only just discovered a new species of elephant shrewor round-eared sengi - in the remote deserts of south western Africa. 但科学家在遥远的西非南部刚刚发现了象鼩的一个新品种圆耳象鼩。 While it is the smallest known member of the 19 sengis in the order Macroscelidea, the small creature is in fact genetically more closely related to an elephant than a true shrew. 虽然这一新发现的小动物是象鼩品种中最小的，但从遗传学角度看它却是大象的亲戚，而非鼩鼱科。 The Etendeka round-eared sengi was discovered by scientists from the California Academy of Sciences. It is the third new species of elephant shrew to be found in the wild in the past decade. 这种圆耳象鼩是被加利福尼亚州科学院的科学家发现的，它是过去十年中新发现的第三种象鼩新品种。 The diminutive animal is smaller than other sengi and has rust-coloured fur, a large, hairless gland on the underside of its tail and lacks dark skin pigment, according to the study published in the Journal of Mammalogy. | 
