sengi

Etymology

From Swahili sengi. First used in print in English by Jonathan Kingdon in 1997.

noun

1. An elephant shrew (family Macroscelidae).
   Sengis feed on insects and other animal and plant material.[…]Young sengis are highly precocial at birth—they will forage 1 day after birth (figure 12.14). 2007, George A. Feldhamer, Lee C. Drickamer, Stephen H. Vessey, Joseph F. Merritt, Carey Krajewski, Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology, 3rd edition, page 251
   The order formerly known as Insectivora included solenodons; shrews; moles and desmans; hedgehogs and moonrats or gymnures; golden moles, tenrecs, and otter shrews; and sengis or elephant shrews. 2007, Marian Armstrong, Wildlife and Plants, volume 9, page 540
   Like small African antelopes, sengis spend their life exposed to the elements while relying on disruptive coloration to act as camouflage from the plethora of African predators. 2010, Joseph F. Merritt, The Biology of Small Mammals, page 237
2. A former (1967-1993) monetary unit of Zaire, 1/100 of a likuta.