Treeshrew

Treeshrews[1]
Temporal range: Middle Eocene – Recent
Tupaia sp.
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Grandorder: Euarchonta
Order: Scandentia
Wagner, 1855
Families
Red: Tupaiidae, Blue: Ptilocercidae , Purple: both Tupaiidae and Ptilocercidae
The distribution and density of treeshrew species.

The treeshrews (also called tree shrews or banxrings[3]) are small mammals native to the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia. They make up the entire order Scandentia, which split into two families: the Tupaiidae (19 species, "ordinary" treeshrews), and the Ptilocercidae (one species, the pen-tailed treeshrew).

Though called 'treeshrews', and despite having previously been classified in Insectivora, they are not true shrews, and not all species live in trees. They are omnivores; among other things, treeshrews eat fruit.

Treeshrews have a higher brain to body mass ratio than any other mammal, including humans,[4] but high ratios are not uncommon for animals weighing less than 1 kg (2 lb).

Among orders of mammals, treeshrews are closely related to primates, and have been used as an alternative to primates in experimental studies of myopia, psychosocial stress, and hepatitis.[5]

  1. ^ Helgen, K.M. (2005). "Order Scandentia". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 104–109. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Tree-shrew" . Encyclopedia Americana.
  4. ^ "an article on Tupaia belangeri". The Genome Institute. Washington University. Archived from the original on 1 June 2010.
  5. ^ Cao, J.; Yang, E.B.; Su, J.-J.; Li, Y.; Chow, P. (2003). "The tree shrews: Adjuncts and alternatives to primates as models for biomedical research" (PDF). Journal of Medical Primatology. 32 (3): 123–130. doi:10.1034/j.1600-0684.2003.00022.x. PMID 12823622. S2CID 16910445. Retrieved 1 January 2012.