Northern treeshrew

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Northern treeshrew
Tupaia belangeri 99597342.jpg
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Scandentia
Family: Tupaiidae
Genus: Tupaia
Species:
T. belangeri
Binomial name
Tupaia belangeri
(Wagner, 1841)
Northern Treeshrew area.png
Northern treeshrew range

The northern treeshrew (Tupaia belangeri) is a treeshrew species native to Southeast Asia. [1]

Contents

In 1841, the German zoologist Johann Andreas Wagner first used the specific name Cladobates belangeri for treeshrews that had been collected in Pegu during a French expedition to Southeast Asia. These specimens were described by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1834 in whose opinion they did not differ sufficiently from Tupaia tana to assign a specific rank. [2] [3]

Characteristics

Skull of a northern treeshrew Tupaia belangeri Skull Planckendael 06112015 2.jpg
Skull of a northern treeshrew

Results of a telemetry study involving northern treeshrews showed that their body temperature varies from 35 °C (95 °F) during the night to 40 °C (104 °F) during the day. This difference is larger than in other endotherms, and indicates that the circadian rhythms of body temperature and locomotor activity are synchronized. [4]

Adults weigh 0.2 kg (0.44 lb). The maximum longevity of the northern treeshrew is 11 years.[ citation needed ]

Besides humans, the northern treeshrew is the only mammal known to willingly consume spicy food. This is due to a genetic mutation rendering it much less sensitive to the effects of capsaicin. [5]

Phylogeny

Complete mitochondrial genome data support the hypothesis of a closer phylogenetic relationship of Tupaia to rabbits than to primates. [6] This is however disputed by the more recent full genome sequencing data that places the species closer to primates (divergence ~90.9 million years ago) than to lagomorphs and rodents (~96.4 Million years ago). [7]

In medical research

The northern treeshrew has attained growing interest for use as a medical model. In 2002, an article was published describing that its primary hepatocytes could be used as a model for studying the Hepatitis C virus, which is a major cause of chronic hepatitis worldwide. [8] It was also used in studies on the development of photo reception, [9] investigation of retinal cones, [10] and refractive state and ocular component dimensions of the eye. [11] Many studies have been conducted regarding eye structure, development, and vision using the northern treeshrew model because of the similarity to human eye structure and sight that is uncharacteristic of conventional small lab animals, such as rodents. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treeshrew</span> Order of mammals

The treeshrews 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, and the Ptilocercidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euarchontoglires</span> Superorder of mammals

Euarchontoglires, synonymous with Supraprimates, is a clade and a superorder of mammals, the living members of which belong to one of the five following groups: rodents, lagomorphs, treeshrews, primates, and colugos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brain–body mass ratio</span> Measurement used for rough estimate of the intelligence of an animal

Brain–body mass ratio, also known as the brain–body weight ratio, is the ratio of brain mass to body mass, which is hypothesized to be a rough estimate of the intelligence of an animal, although fairly inaccurate in many cases. A more complex measurement, encephalization quotient, takes into account allometric effects of widely divergent body sizes across several taxa. The raw brain-to-body mass ratio is however simpler to come by, and is still a useful tool for comparing encephalization within species or between fairly closely related species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madras treeshrew</span> Species of mammal

The Madras treeshrew, also known as the Indian treeshrew, is a species of treeshrew in the monotypic genus Anathana found in the hill forests of central and southern India. The genus name is derived from the Tamil name of moongil anathaan and the species name is after Sir Walter Elliot of the Indian Civil Services in Madras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common treeshrew</span> Species of mammal

The common treeshrew is a small mammal in the treeshrew family Tupaiidae, and is native to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It has been listed as Least Concern by IUCN as it remains common and displays some adaptability to ongoing habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liver receptor homolog-1</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horsfield's treeshrew</span> Species of mammal

Horsfield's treeshrew, also called Javan treeshrew, is a treeshrew species within the Tupaiidae. It is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Bali, Java and Nias where it inhabits foremost primary forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pygmy treeshrew</span> Species of mammal

The pygmy treeshrew is a treeshrew species within the family Tupaiidae. It is native to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The generic name is derived from the Malay word tupai meaning squirrel or small animals that resemble squirrels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain treeshrew</span> Species of mammal

The mountain treeshrew is a treeshrew species within the Tupaiidae. It is endemic to Borneo and inhabits montane forests in Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia, and Kalimantan, Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large treeshrew</span> Species of mammal

The large treeshrew is a treeshrew species within the Tupaiidae. It is native to Sumatra and adjacent small islands, as well as in the lowlands and hills of Borneo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mindanao treeshrew</span> Species of mammal

The Mindanao treeshrew, also called the Philippine tree shrew, is a species of treeshrew endemic to the Mindanao region in the Philippines. It was formerly considered the only member of the genus Urogale, but that genus was merged into Tupaia when the species was found to nest within the latter genus in a molecular phylogeny. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.

<i>Tupaia</i> (mammal) Genus of mammals

Tupaia is a treeshrew genus in the family Tupaiidae that was first described by Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1821. The name of this genus derives from the Malay word tupai meaning squirrel or small animal resembling a squirrel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tupaiidae</span> Family of mammals

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 tupaiids superficially resemble. The former genus Urogale was disbanded in 2011 when the Mindanao treeshrew was moved to Tupaia based on a molecular phylogeny.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asialoglycoprotein receptor 1</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

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Kang Zhang is a Chinese-American ophthalmologist specializing in ophthalmic genetics and aging processes in the eye. He is currently a Professor of the Faculty of Medicine at Macau University of Science and Technology. He was previously a Professor of Ophthalmology and the Founding Director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Zhang is particularly known for his work on lanosterol, stem cell research, gene editing, and artificial intelligence.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Han, K.H.; Duckworth, J.W.; Molur, S. (2016). "Tupaia belangeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T41492A22280884. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T41492A22280884.en . Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  2. ↑ Wagner, J. A. (1841). "Das peguanische Spitzhörnchen". Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen. Vol. Supplementband 2. Erlangen: Expedition des Schreber'schen Säugethier- und des Esper'schen Schmetterlingswerkes. pp. 42–43.
  3. ↑ Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I. (1834). "Insectivores vivant dans le continent de l'Inde ou dans le grand Archipel indien. Les Tupaias". In Bélanger, C. P.; Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I.; Lesson, R. P.; Valenciennes, M.; Deshayes, G. P.; Guérin, F. E. (eds.). Voyage aux Indes orientales, pendant les années 1825 a 1829 par M. Charles Bélanger. Vol. Zoologie, Mammifères. Paris: Arthus Bertrand. pp. 103–107.
  4. ↑ Refinetti, R.; Menaker, M. (1992). "Body temperature rhythm of the tree shrew, Tupaia belangeri". Journal of Experimental Zoology. 263 (4): 453–457. doi:10.1002/jez.1402630413. PMID   1402741.
  5. ↑ Han, Yalan; Li, Bowen; Yin, Ting-Ting; Xu, Cheng; Ombati, Rose; Luo, Lei; Xia, Yujie; Xu, Lizhen; Zheng, Jie; Zhang, Yaping; Yang, Fan; Wang, Guo-Dong; Yang, Shilong; Lai, Ren (2018-07-12). "Molecular mechanism of the tree shrew's insensitivity to spiciness". PLOS Biology. 16 (7): e2004921. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.2004921 . ISSN   1545-7885. PMC   6042686 . PMID   30001322.
  6. ↑ Schmitz, J.; Ohme, M.; Zischler, H. (2000). "The complete mitochondrial genome of Tupaia belangeri and the phylogenetic affiliation of Scandentia to other eutherian orders". Molecular Biology and Evolution. 17 (9): 1334–1343. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026417 . PMID   10958850.
  7. ↑ Fan, Y.; Huang, Z.Y.; Cao, C.C.; Chen, C.S.; Chen, Y.X.; Fan, D.D.; He, J.; Hou, H.L.; Hu, L.; Hu, X.T.; Jiang, X.T.; Lai, R.; Lang, Y.S.; Liang, B.; Liao, S.G.; Mu, D.; Ma, Y.Y.; Niu, Y.Y.; Sun, X.Q.; Xia, J.Q.; Xiao, J.; Xiong, Z.Q.; Xu, L.; Yang, L.; Zhang, Y.; Zhao, W.; Zhao, X.D.; Zheng, Y.T.; Zhou, J.M.; Zhu, Y.B.; Zhang, G.J.; Wang, J.; Yao, Y.G. (2013). "Genome of the Chinese tree shrew". Nature Communications. 4: 1426. Bibcode:2013NatCo...4.1426F. doi: 10.1038/ncomms2416 . PMID   23385571.
  8. ↑ Zhao, X., Tang, Z. Y., Klumpp, B., Wolff-Vorbeck, G., Barth, H., Levy, S., von Weizsäcker, F., Blum, H. E., Baumert, T. F. (2002). Primary hepatocytes of Tupaia belangeri as a potential model for hepatitis C virus infection. Journal of Clinical Investigation 109(2): 221−232.
  9. ↑ Taylor, W. Rowland; Morgans, Catherine (1998). "Localization and properties of voltage-gated calcium channels in cone photoreceptors of Tupaia belangeri". Visual Neuroscience. 15 (3): 541–552. doi:10.1017/S0952523898153142 (inactive 1 November 2024). PMID   9685206. S2CID   23937632.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  10. ↑ Knabe, W., Skatchkov, S., Kuhn, H.-J. (1997.) Lens Mitochondria in the Retinal Cones of the Tree-shrew Tupaia belangeri. Vision Research 37 (3): 267–271.
  11. ↑ Norton, T. T., McBrien, N. A. (1992.) Normal development of refractive state and ocular component dimensions in the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri). Vision Research 32 (5): 833–842.
  12. ↑ Shriver, J .G., Noback, C. R. (1967). "Color Vision in the Tree Shrew (Tupaia glis)". Folia Primatologia 6: 161−169.
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