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Order : SCANDENTIA
Family : Tupaiidae
Species : Dendrogale murina
Head-Body Length : 11.5-13.5 cm
Tail Length : 10.5-13 cm
The Northern
Smooth-tailed Treeshrew occurs mainly in southern Vietnam, and parts of Laos
and Cambodia; smaller populations occur in Thailand, in remaining forested
areas between Bangkok and the border with Cambodia.
This is one of two species in the genus Dendrogale; its sister
species, Dendrogale melanura, occurs in Borneo.
This small treeshrew is easily identified in the field by its slender form,
pointed muzzle and the pale stripes above and below the eye, which contrast
with the dark stripe running through the eye. Its body fur is brownish above
and buff below, and its crown is dark. The tail is round with short, brown
fur.
Dendrogale murina is an arboreal species, active by day amongst
vegetation from near ground-level to the forest canopy. It can in a range of
forest types including evergreen, mixed deciduous, bamboo-dominated
habitats, streamside vegetation and rocky savannah to 1500 metres elevation
(Timmins et al, 2003).
Its diet comprise insects, especially beetles, and occasional fruit.
Species of treeshrew which avoid descending to ground level are smaller and
more slender than forest-floor dwellers; for example, the head-body length
of Dendrogale murina is around 4 to 9 cm shorter than the
Northern Treeshrew Tupaia belangeri
with which it is sympatric (i.e. occurs in the same geographic area).
The grasping ability of the hind feet of this small mammal, which helps it
navigate the complex structure of forest vegetation with ease, was
extensively studied by Youlatos et al (2017).
Fig 1 : Example climbing a slender sapling in forest-edge habitat at Cat
Tien National Park, Vietnam, where the species is known to be relatively
common.
Photo thanks to Binish Roobas.
References :
Francis, C.M. 2019. A Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia. Second
Edition. New Holland. 416 pp.
Lekagul, B., McNeely, J., 1977. Mammals of Thailand. Association for the
Conservation of Wildlife, Thailand. 758 pp.
Timmins, R. J., Duckworth, J. W., Robson, C. R., & Walston, J. L. (2003).
Distribution, status and ecology of the mainland slender-tailed treeshrew
Dendrogale murina. Mammal Review, 33(3‐4), 272-283.
Youlatos, D., Karantanis, N. E., & Panyutina, A. (2017). Pedal grasping in
the northern smooth-tailed treeshrew Dendrogale murina (Tupaiidae,
Scandentia): insights for euarchontan pedal evolution. Mammalia, 81(1),
61-70.
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