Definition of "tenrec" []

• Any of various insectivorous mammals of the family Tenrecidae, of Madagascar and adjacent islands, similar to the hedgehog but having a long pointed snout and often no tail. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Kerns, 25, talked about his life as a zookeeper, and as he spoke he held in his hands a tiny tenrec named Pandora."
• "The insectivorous tenrec Tenrec ecaudatus, introduced to the Seychelles from Madagascar, also occurs."
• "As Jonathan Martin reports, Newt is playing that game too with the help of some friends from the Des Moines zoo: a baby American alligator, a hedgehog tenrec, a barred owl, a leopard gecko and a bunny."