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Taxa

Scandentia

Mammal Orders

Scandentia is an order of small mammals native to the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia, commonly known as treeshrews despite not being true shrews. The order comprises two families, Tupaiidae and Ptilocercidae, and treeshrews have long been studied for their evolutionary relationship to primates.

Facts
Taxonomic Rank
Order 1
Member Species/Taxa Count
23 1
Geographic Distribution
Tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia 1
Defining Characteristics
Higher brain to body mass ratio than any other mammal 1
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
Slender animals with long tails and soft greyish to reddish-brown fur 1
Sources
1. Treeshrew, Wikipedia
  • Order Scandentia
    The 23 species are placed in four genera, which are divided into two families.
  • Lead paragraph
    The treeshrews (also called tree shrews or banxrings) are small mammals native to the tropical forests of South and Southeast Asia.
  • Description, brain
    They have a higher brain to body mass ratio than any other mammal, including humans.
  • Description, appearance
    Treeshrews are slender animals with long tails and soft, greyish to reddish-brown fur.
  • Taxonomic rank (Wikipedia confirms the entity; rank from slug/structure-wave classification)
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