Philippines shrews
| Philippines shrews | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tupaia everetti | ||||||||||||
| Thomas , 1892 |
The Philippines or Mindanao shrews ( Tupaia everetti ( synonym : Urogale everetti )) is a species of mammal from the family of shrews (Tupaiidae). The scientific species name honors the British collector Alfred Hart Everett (1848–1898).
description
It differs from other species of pointed squirrel by its elongated snout and bushy, evenly haired tail. The fur is brownish in color on the upper side, there is often an orange shoulder stripe, the underside is orange-reddish. With a head body length of 17 to 22 centimeters and a weight of around 350 grams, it is one of the largest species in its family. The life expectancy of these animals can be up to 12 years.
distribution and habitat
The Philippine pointed squirrel is native to the island of Mindanao, which is part of the Philippines, and to smaller offshore islands. Apart from two species on the island of Palawan , it is the only species that lives on this archipelago. The habitat of these animals are densely vegetated bush and forest areas, especially near rivers. They can climb well, but they can also run quickly, and they can be found both in trees and on the ground. Like most shrews, they are diurnal.
food
The canine-like front teeth suggest that this species is more carnivorous than other shrews. Their diet consists of insects, earthworms, small vertebrates such as mice or lizards, but also fruits.
Reproduction
They build their nests on the ground or in crevices. After about eight weeks of gestation, the female gives birth to one or two young. Like other shrews, the mothers seldom suckle their young, every one or two days. They are weaned at around five weeks.
Systematics
The Philippine shrewfish was first scientifically described in 1892 by the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas under the scientific name Tupaia everetti . In 1905, the American ornithologist and naturalist Edgar Alexander Mearns introduced the genus Urogale , to which the Philippine shrewhorn and several other shrewhorn species were assigned. In the second half of the 20th century, the Philippine shrewfish was the only member of Urogale . After various molecular genetic studies in the early 21st century is Urogale but in the genus Tupaia embedded, the Philippines shrews from 2011 and therefore increasingly integrated back into the latter was.
Danger
Like many other species in the Philippines, the Philippine shrews are threatened by the loss of their habitat, which is associated with large-scale clearing. The IUCN listed the species as endangered ( vulnerable ) for a long time , and since 2008 it has been classified as least endangered .
literature
- Melissa Hawkins: Family Tupaiidae (Treeshrews). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 8: Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2018, ISBN 978-84-16728-08-4 , pp. 242–269 (p. 269)
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0801857899
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kwai-Hin Han and Frederick H. Sheldon: Interspecific relationships and biogeography of some Bornean tree shrews (Tupaiidae: Tupaia), based on DNA hybridization and morphometric comparisons. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 70, 2000, pp. 1-14
- ^ Trina E. Roberts, Eric J. Sargis and Link E. Olson: Networks, Trees, and Treeshrews: Assessing Support and Identifying Conflict with Multiple Loci and a Problematic Root. Systematic Biology 58 (2), 2009, pp. 257-270
- ↑ Trina E. Roberts, Hayley C. Lanier, Eric J. Sargis, Link E. Olson: Molecular phylogeny of treeshrews (Mammalia: Scandentia) and the timescale of diversification in Southeast Asia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 60, 2011, pp. 358-372
- ↑ Tupaia everetti in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Tabaranza, B., Gonzalez, JC, Ambal, G. & Heaney, L., 2008. Accessed January 24 of 2010.