TENREC (Centetes ecaudatus)  , one of the largest representatives of the mammalian order Insectivora, the length being from 12 in. to 16 in.; called also the tailless ground-hog of Madagascar, to which island it is restricted . The coat consists chiefly of bristles and hairs, with an admixture of flexible spines, which in the young form longitudinal lines down the back; but in the adult they are limited to the back of the neck . The general hue is brown tinged with yellow . From twelve to sixteen young are produced at a birth, and twenty-one have been recorded . In habits the tenrec is fossorial and nocturnal; its home is in the brush in the mountain regions, and in the cool season, from May or June till December, it hibernates in deep burrows . The long flexible snout is used to root up worms and grubs, and ground-insects form part of its nourishment . These animals are very fat when hibernation begins, and are then much valued for food by the natives (see also INsECTlvoRA) .