Pygmy shrew
| Pygmy shrew | ||||||||||||
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Pygmy shrew ( Tupaia minor ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tupaia minor | ||||||||||||
| Günther , 1876 |
The pygmy shrew ( Tupaia minor ) occurs in four subspecies in Southeast Asia. Tupaia minor minor , the nominate form lives on Borneo , Pulau Banggi and Pulau Balambangan , Tupaia minor humeralis occurs on Sumatra, Tupaia minor malaccana lives on the Malay Peninsula and Tupaia minor sincipis is endemic to Singkep .
features
With a head-to-trunk length of 11 to 14 cm and a tail length of 13.5 to 17.5 cm and a weight of 35 to 80 g, the dwarf point squirrel is one of the smallest species of point squirrel . The ears are 8 to 14 mm high and the length of the rear foot is 29 to 33 mm. The fur of the animals is light brown, the long tail is often darker, especially in the nominate form. The shoulder stripe is ivory and clearly pronounced. The belly is ivory to light brownish. The skull is small, the muzzle is relatively short. The claws on the front and rear feet are curved to adapt to the arboreal (tree-dwelling) way of life.
Way of life
The pygmy shrews live in lowland rain forests, in peat swamps (see peat bog forests of Borneo ), in plantations and mixed forests with wing fruit plants up to an altitude of 1700 meters. It is diurnal and arboreal. However, the animals were also caught on the ground in traps equipped with bait. It feeds mainly on insects and fruits, e.g. B. Figs and the fruits of virgin vines ( Parthenocissus ) and Myrsinoideae (Myrsinoideae). When looking for food, living and dried leaves of lianas are often searched for invertebrates. Flocks of birds of various species have been seen catching insects that were fleeing from the shrews. Females usually have two pups per litter. Pregnant females were caught in Borneo in September and May.
Danger
The pygmy shrewd is considered by the IUCN as harmless (least concern). Its distribution area is relatively large, but is severely affected by deforestation. After clear cutting, the regrowing secondary forest is repopulated as soon as sufficient numbers of climbing plants have regrown.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d 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. 264)
- ↑ Tupaia minor in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: Cassola, F., 2016. Accessed on March 10 of 2019.