Treeshrew

The treeshrews (or tree shrews or banxrings) 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, but high ratios are not uncommon for animals weighing less than . 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. The name Tupaia is derived from tupai, the Malay word for squirrel, and was provided by Sir Stamford Raffles. Treeshrews are slender animals with long tails and soft, greyish to reddish-brown fur. The terrestrial species tend to be larger than the arboreal forms, and to have larger claws, which they use for digging up insect prey. They have poorly developed canine teeth and unspecialised molars, with an overall dental formula of Treeshrews have good vision, which is binocular in the case of the more arboreal species. Female treeshrews have a gestation period of 45–50 days and give birth to up to three young in nests lined with dry leaves inside tree hollows. The young are born blind and hairless, but are able to leave the nest after about a month. During this period, the mother provides relatively little maternal care, visiting her young only for a few minutes every other day to suckle them. Treeshrews reach sexual maturity after around four months, and breed for much of the year, with no clear breeding season in most species. Treeshrews live in small family groups, which defend their territory from intruders. Most are diurnal, although the pen-tailed treeshrew is nocturnal.