Order Macroscelidea is characterized by the fact that they all live on land, they have big eyes, long legs, a long nose similar to an elephant's trunk, molars like the ones of herbivorous animals, and a long rat-like tail. They were once classified as Order Eulipotyphla, ungulates (Order Perissodactyla and Order Artiodactyla). However, in recent years they have been classified as an independent group.
Elephant shrews are distributed throughout Africa. They live in a variety of environments such as deserts, steppes, mountains and forests.