Tupaiidae

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Tupaiidae
Tupaia in Jawa Barat, Indonesia

Tupaia in Jawa Barat , Indonesia

Systematics
Class : Mammals (mammalia)
Subclass : Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate : Euarchontoglires
Order : Pointed Squirrel (Scandentia)
Family : Tupaiidae
Scientific name
Tupaiidae
Gray , 1825

The Tupaiidae are next to the Ptilocercidae one of two families of the shrews (Scandentia). It contains three genera and 22 species.

The name comes from the Malay word tupai for pointed and squirrels.

Other names are Cladobatae, Cladobatidina, Cladobatida, Cladobatina, Glisoricina, Glisoricinae, Tupaina, Tupaiadae, Tupajidae, Tupayae and Tupayidae.

distribution

Tupaiidae are found exclusively in the tropical rain and mountain forests of Southeast Asia. In China, Nepal, Cambodia and Vietnam they are represented by one species, in Thailand with two species. There are three species in India and the Philippines. The rest of the species is spread across Malaysia and Indonesia, specifically the Malay Peninsula , Borneo (eight endemic species), Sumatra , Java, and surrounding islands.

features

The Tupaiidae are squirrel-like animals, but more closely related to the primates. Tupaiidae have a relatively large brain compared to their body size (the common shrewfish ( Tupaia glis ) weighs around 2.8 g with a body weight of around 173 g). They have no vibrissae , but a long and thickly hairy tail, which serves for balance, and five fingers with sickle-shaped claws. The front legs are longer than the rear legs. They become 10–25 cm long, the tail another 14–22 cm. Their weight ranges from 30 g (pygmy shrews) to 360 g (Philippines shrews). Their thick fur is usually brown, sometimes with shadows; some species have longitudinal stripes. You have 38 teeth. The sense of sight and hearing are well developed.

Way of life

The Tupaiidae are diurnal. They live alone or in pairs and mainly terrestrial, some species also semi-underground. Few species live arboreal (tree dwelling). They live in the undergrowth and are omnivores , but feed mainly on insects, worms, small vertebrates, lizards, eggs, larvae, fruits, seeds and nectar. They can also be found in parks and orchards. If a conspecific crosses the territorial boundary, they can become very aggressive and fight violent fights. Sometimes the conquered dies after 2–16 days because he becomes "depressed", the chemical content in the blood increases and it decreases sharply. They often nest in hollows of fallen trees or bamboo hollows. They become sexually mature at about six months; after a gestation period of 41–56 days, they throw one to four naked and blind young. They leave the nest after 30 days.

Systematics

In the past, Tupaiidae were often among the primates in the subordination of the prosimians asked (prosimiae) (superfamily Lemuroidea). After the giant gliders , they are the closest relatives of the primates.

The family also includes the two extinct genera Eodendrogale and Prodendrogale .

Originally, the Philippine pointed squirrel was assigned to the genus Urogale and was its only member, especially in the second half of the 20th century. According to various molecular genetic studies at the beginning of the 21st century, urogale is embedded in the genus Tupaia , which is why the proposal arose in 2011 to include the former in the latter.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kristofer M. Helgen: Family Tupaiidae . In: Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference . 3. Edition. tape 1 . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , pp. 104 ( books.google.de ). - ( Family Tupaiidae. Departments.bucknell.edu).
  2. ^ Tupaiidae , Integrated Taxonomic Information System
  3. ↑ Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Christine E. Collins, Peiyan Wong and Jon H. Kaas: Cellular scaling rules for primate brains. PNAS 104 (9), 2007, pp. 3562-3567
  4. ↑ Jan E. Janečka, Webb Miller, Thomas H. Pringle, Frank Wiens, Annette Zitzmann, Kristofer M. Helgen, Mark S. Springer, William J. Murphy: Molecular and Genomic Data Identify the Closest Living Relative of Primates . In: Science . tape 318 , no. 5851 , 2007, ISSN  0036-8075 , p. 792-794 , doi : 10.1126 / science.1147555 , PMID 17975064 .
  5. ↑ 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
  6. ^ 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
  7. ↑ 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