The mountain treeshrew (''Tupaia montana'') is a

treeshrew The treeshrews (or tree shrews or banxrings) are small mammals native to the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia. They make up the entire order Scandentia, which split into two families: the Tupaiidae (19 species, "ordinary" treeshrew ...

species within the

Tupaiidae Tupaiidae is one of two families of treeshrews, the other family being Ptilocercidae. The family contains three living genera and 19 living species. The family name derives from ''tupai'', the Malay word for treeshrew and also for squirrel which ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

and inhabits montane forests in

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

and

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

. The first specimen was described by Oldfield Thomas and was part of a zoological collection from northern Borneo obtained by the

British Museum of Natural History The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum ...

.Thomas, O. (1892)
''On some new Mammalia from the East-Indian Archipelago''.
The Annals and Magazine of Natural History 6 (9): 250–254.

Characteristics

The mountain treeshrew is dark grizzled rufous above with an indistinct black line along the back. Its tail is rather short and grizzled rufous above, but below more olivaceous yellow with a black tip. The lateral tail hairs are ringed. The head and body length measures 15–33 cm and the tail length measures 13–19 cm.

Distribution and habitat

Charles Hose Charles Hose FRGS. FLS (12 October 1863 – 14 November 1929) was a British colonial administrator, zoologist and ethnologist. Life and career He was born in Hertfordshire, England, and was educated at Felsted in Essex. Admitted to Clare Colleg ...

collected the first specimen at about on Mount Dulit. Mountain treeshrews have mostly been recorded in montane outcrops above .

Ecology and behaviour

In their natural habitat, mountain treeshrews were observed being active during the day. They forage on the ground among fallen logs and branches where they feed mostly on arthropods. They also consume large quantities of wild fruits and berries, eating them in short bursts. It is assumed that they extract sugar laden juices and in this way supplement any dietary deficiencies of an arthropod diet. Results of a behavioral study of a group of 12 wild-caught captive mountain treeshrews indicate that they are more social than groups of other treeshrew species. Two males tended to dominate the group. Females had an

estrous cycle The estrous cycle (, originally ) is the set of recurring physiological changes that are induced by reproductive hormones in most mammalian therian females. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestro ...

lasting nine to 12 days. Gestation lasted 49 to 51 days. They did not display a distinct reproductive season. Litters comprised one to two young.Sorenson, M. W., Conaway, C. H. (1968). ''The social and reproductive behavior of Tupaia montana in captivity''. Journal of Mammalogy: 502–512. Mountain treeshrews have a mutualistic relationship with several

pitcher plant Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants which have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher p ...

s species such as ''

Nepenthes lowii ''Nepenthes lowii'' , or Low's pitcher-plant,Phillipps, A. & A. Lamb 1996. '' Pitcher-Plants of Borneo''. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. is a tropical pitcher plant endemic to Borneo. It is named after Hugh Low, who discov ...

'', '' Nepenthes macrophylla'', and ''

Nepenthes rajah ''Nepenthes rajah'' is a carnivorous pitcher plant species of the family Nepenthaceae. It is endemic to Mount Kinabalu and neighbouring Mount Tambuyukon in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.Clarke 1997, p. 123. ''Nepenthes rajah'' grows exclusively ...

''. They defecate into the plants' pitchers while visiting them to feed on sweet, fruity secretions from glands on the pitcher lids.Chin, L., Moran, J. A., Clarke, C. (2010). ''Trap geometry in three giant montane pitcher plant species from Borneo is a function of tree shrew body size''. New Phytologist 186 (2): 461–470.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q774635 Treeshrews Mammals of Borneo Mammals of Brunei Mammals of Indonesia Mammals of Malaysia Endemic fauna of Borneo Mammals described in 1892 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot