Tupaia belangeri, Wagner, 1841
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6779158 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6779283 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/E75FB01D-FA53-FFA3-BFAF-8303FC1C6FAD |
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treatment provided by |
Valdenar |
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scientific name |
Tupaia belangeri |
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Northern Treeshrew
French: Toupaye de Bélanger / German: Nordliches Spitzhornchen / Spanish: Tupaya septentrional
Other common names: Chinese Treeshrew (chinensis)
Taxonomy. Cladobates belangeri Wagner, 1841 ,
“Pégou [= Bago],” near Yangon, southern Burma (=Myanmar) .
Tupaia belangeri is in need of further taxonomic scrutiny. Although it has a variety of forms, K. M. Helgen in 2005 recognized two subspecies. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
T.b.belanger:Wagner,1841—knownfromSMyanmar.
T. b. chinensis |. Anderson, 1879 — known from SC China (Yunnan), Thailand, and Vietnam.
This species has a vast distribution, spanning from SW & SC China and Nepal S through Bhutan, NE India, NE Bangladesh, and South-east Asia to extreme N Malay Peninsula; also found on Hainan I. Exact distributions of the subspecies accepted here are not known. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body length 160-230 mm,tail 150-200 mm, ear 15-20 mm, hindfoot 38-45 mm; weight 160-200 g. The Northern Treeshrew is large, with agoutibrown dorsum (with light and dark banding on each hair) and buff venter. Pelage varies geographically, with some populations exhibiting more olive-brown coloration and others more reddish. Shoulder markings, diagnostic of many treeshrew species, are present but faint. Females have three pairs of mammae. The Northern Treeshrew was formerly considered a subspecies of the Common Treeshrew (7. glis ), although mammae count is consistently different between the two species. Gao Wenrong and colleagues in 2017 found substantial morphometric differences in external and cranial measurements from specimens across the distribution.
Habitat. Variety of forest types including deciduous, evergreen, primary, secondary forests; karst habitats; natural scrub; and palm oil plantations from low elevations up to ¢.3000 m.
Food and Feeding. The Northern Treeshrew is a generalist and forages on invertebrates (particularly beetles) and fruit.
Breeding. Captive Northern Treeshrews breed year-round, and as soon as young are weaned, a female enters estrus and reproduces again. Gestation lasts 40-52 days. As in other treeshrew species, the Northern Treeshrew exhibits absentee parental care, where young are nursed about every 48 hours and mothers do not interveneif a nestis invaded by predators. Mothers have not been observed grooming or cleaning young. The Northern Treeshrew is monogamous, but it is unknown if extra-pair copulations occur, as has been observed in the Large Treeshrew (7. tana ).
Activity patterns. The Northern Treeshrew is diurnal and mainly terrestrial; it is often seen in low, dense bushes.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Northern Treeshrews are territorial and assumed to have one adult male and one adult female per territory. The two adults do notforage together and seemingly only interact for reproductive purposes. They do, however,tolerate the opposite sex within their territories. Antagonistic behaviors between the same sex are common, particularly in captivity where artificially high densities exist.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. The Northern Treeshrew is found in a wide variety of habitats and forest types. Despite forest degradation, overall population is stable. The Northern Treeshrew is used as a model organism for biomedical research and is thought to be a better model for human diseases than rodent models.
Bibliography. Corbet & Hill (1992), Gao Wenrong et al. (2017), Helgen (2005).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
