The Mindanao treeshrew (''Tupaia everetti''), also called the Philippine tree shrew, is a species of

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" treeshrews) ...

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 elsew ...

to the

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

region in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It was formerly considered the only member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Urogale'', but that genus was merged into '' Tupaia'' when the species was found to nest within the latter genus in a

molecular phylogeny Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector

Alfred Hart Everett Alfred Hart Everett (11 October 1848 – 18 June 1898) was a British civil servant and administrator in Borneo as well as being a naturalist and natural history collector. Career Everett was born on Norfolk Island to British parents: George, the ...

Range and habitat

It is found, as its name suggests, in Mindanao, in the Philippines. It lives in

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

and

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

Description

It is the heaviest treeshrew, weighing about 355 g, and is

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

.Napier JR, Napier PH. (1968) A handbook of living primates. Morphology, ecology and behaviour of nonhuman primates. Academic, London The body is 17–20 cm, and the tail is 11–17 cm. It has a particularly elongated snout and a rounded, even-haired tail. The fur is brownish, but with orange or yellow underparts. It is diurnal in its habits, and it climbs well and runs fast on the ground.

Diet

Its diet is varied. It includes insects, lizards, young birds, bird's eggs, and fruit.

Reproduction

In the wild, it is thought to nest on the ground or on cliffs. Their breeding habits have been observed in captivity, where females have produced one or two young after a gestation period of 54–56 days.

References

*''Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia'' Mammals described in 1892 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Mammals of the Philippines Treeshrews Endemic fauna of the Philippines Fauna of Mindanao {{mammal-stub