23-414: Erinaceidae / ˌ ɛr ɪ n ə ˈ s iː ɪ d iː / is a family in the order Eulipotyphla , consisting of the hedgehogs and moonrats . Until recently, it was assigned to the order Erinaceomorpha , which has been subsumed with the paraphyletic Soricomorpha into Eulipotyphla. Eulipotyphla has been shown to be monophyletic ; Soricomorpha is paraphyletic because both Soricidae and Talpidae share
46-468: A behavior unique among mammals other than humans. A single TRPV1 mutation reduces their pain response to capsaicinoids, which scientists believe is an evolutionary adaptation to be able to consume spicy foods in their natural habitats. Pitcher plants like the Nepenthes lowii , supplements its carnivorous diet with tree shrew droppings. They make up the entire order Scandentia , split into
69-433: A few minutes every other day to suckle them. Treeshrews reach sexual maturity after around four months, and breed for much of the year, with no clear breeding season in most species. Treeshrews live in small family groups, which defend their territory from intruders. Most are diurnal , although the pen-tailed treeshrew is nocturnal . They mark their territories using various scent glands or urine , depending on
92-644: A group of placental mammals that have retained many of their ancestral traits, having changed little since their origin in the Eocene . The so-called 'giant hedgehog' (actually a gymnure ) Deinogalerix , from the Miocene of Gargano Island (part of modern Italy ), was the size of a large rabbit, and may have eaten vertebrate prey or carrion, rather than insects. Eulipotyphla Eulipotyphla ( / ˌ j uː l ɪ p oʊ ˈ t ɪ f l ə / , from eu- + Lipotyphla ; sometimes called true insectivores )
115-413: A higher brain to body mass ratio than any other mammal, including humans , but high ratios are not uncommon for animals weighing less than 1 kg (2 lb). Among orders of mammals, treeshrews are closely related to primates , and have been used as an alternative to primates in experimental studies of myopia , psychosocial stress, and hepatitis . The name Tupaia is derived from tupai ,
138-597: A more recent common ancestor with Erinaceidae than with solenodons . Erinaceidae contains the well-known hedgehogs (subfamily Erinaceinae ) of Eurasia and Africa and the gymnures or moonrats (subfamily Galericinae ) of Southeast Asia. This family was once considered part of the order Insectivora , but that polyphyletic order is now considered defunct. Erinaceids are generally shrew -like in form, with long snouts and short tails. They are, however, much larger than shrews, ranging from 10–15 cm (4–6 in) in body length and 40–60 grams (1.4–2.1 oz) in weight, in
161-463: A powerful odor. Erinaceids are omnivorous , with the major part of their diet consisting of insects, earthworms, and other small invertebrates . They also eat seeds and fruit, and occasionally birds' eggs, along with any carrion they come across. Their teeth are sharp and suited for impaling invertebrate prey. The dental formula for erinaceids is: 2-3.1.4.3 3.1.2-4.3 Hedgehogs are nocturnal , but gymnures are less so, and may be active during
184-399: Is binocular in the case of the more arboreal species. Female treeshrews have a gestation period of 45–50 days and give birth to up to three young in nests lined with dry leaves inside tree hollows. The young are born blind and hairless, but are able to leave the nest after about a month. During this period, the mother provides relatively little maternal care, visiting her young only for
207-555: Is an order of mammals comprising the Erinaceidae ( hedgehogs and gymnures ); Solenodonstidae (solenodons); Talpidae ( moles , shrew-like moles and desmans ); and Soricidae (true shrews) families. Historically, these animals were grouped with others such as treeshrews , elephant shrews , and colugos , under the broader category Insectivora , comprising all small insect-eating placental mammals. Wilhelm Peters identified two sub-groups of Insectivora, distinguished by
230-557: Is different enough to warrant placement in its own family, Ptilocercidae ; the two families are thought to have separated 60 million years ago. The former Tupaiidae genus Urogale was disbanded in 2011 when the Mindanao treeshrew was moved to Tupaia based on a molecular phylogeny. The fossil record of treeshrews is poor. The oldest putative treeshrew, Eodendrogale parva , is from the Middle Eocene of Henan , China, but
253-517: The Malay word for squirrel , and was provided by Sir Stamford Raffles . Treeshrews are slender animals with long tails and soft, greyish to reddish-brown fur. The terrestrial species tend to be larger than the arboreal forms, and to have larger claws, which they use for digging up insect prey. They have poorly developed canine teeth and unspecialised molars, with an overall dental formula of 2.1.3.3 3.1.3.3 Treeshrews have good vision , which
SECTION 10
#1732779960501276-450: The families Tupaiidae , the treeshrews, and Ptilocercidae , the pen-tailed treeshrew. The 20 species are placed in five genera . Treeshrews were moved from the order Insectivora into the order Primates because of certain internal similarities to primates (for example, similarities in the brain anatomy , highlighted by Sir Wilfrid Le Gros Clark ), and classified as a "primitive prosimian ", however they were soon split from
299-670: 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), and the Ptilocercidae (one species, the pen-tailed treeshrew ). Though called 'treeshrews', and despite having previously been classified in Insectivora , they are not true shrews , and not all species live in trees . They are omnivores ; among other things, treeshrews eat fruit. Treeshrews have
322-800: The Euarchonta are sister to the Glires ( lagomorphs and rodents ), and the two groups are combined into the superorder Euarchontoglires . However, the alternative placement of treeshrews as sister to both Glires and Primatomorpha cannot be ruled out. Some studies place Scandentia as sister of the Glires, which would invalidate Euarchonta: It is this organization that is shown in the tree diagram below. Scandentia (treeshrews) Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas) Rodentia (rodents) Dermoptera (colugos) † Plesiadapiformes Primates Several other arrangements of these orders have been proposed in
345-405: The Euarchonta group: Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, pikas) Rodentia (rodents) Scandentia (treeshrews) Dermoptera (colugos) Primates († Plesiadapiformes , Strepsirrhini , Haplorrhini ) The 23 species are placed in four genera , which are divided into two families. The majority are in the "ordinary" treeshrew family, Tupaiidae , but one species, the pen-tailed treeshrew ,
368-818: The Lipotyphla are not a monophyletic group. This led to tenrecs , otter shrews , and golden moles being placed a new order ( Afrosoricida , in the superorder Afrotheria ), with the remaining members of Lipotyphla being reclassified as Eulipotyphla. A 2023 study suggested that the order began to diversify prior to the K-Pg extinction , based on molecular clock estimates. Family-level cladogram of modern eulipotyphlan relationships, following Roca et al. and Brace et al.: † Nesophontidae [REDACTED] Solenodontidae [REDACTED] Talpidae [REDACTED] Soricidae [REDACTED] Erinaceidae [REDACTED] The upper and lower basal subclades within
391-514: The case of the short-tailed gymnure , up to 26–45 cm (10–18 in) and 1.0–1.4 kg (2.2–3.1 lb) in the moonrat . All but one species have five toes in each foot, in some cases with strong claws for digging, and they have large eyes and ears. Hedgehogs possess hair modified into sharp spines to form a protective covering over the upper body and flanks, while gymnures have only normal hair. Most species have anal scent glands , but these are far better developed in gymnures, which can have
414-502: The day. Many species live in simple burrows, while others construct temporary nests on the surface from leaves and grass, or shelter in hollow logs or similar hiding places. Erinaceids are solitary animals outside the breeding season, and the father plays no role in raising the young. Female erinaceids give birth after a gestation period of around six to seven weeks. The young are born blind and hairless, although hedgehogs begin to sprout their spines within 36 hours of birth. Erinaceids are
437-565: The particular species. Treeshrews are omnivorous , feeding on insects, small vertebrates, fruit, and seeds. Among other things, treeshrews eat Rafflesia fruit. The pen-tailed treeshrew in Malaysia is able to consume large amounts of naturally fermented nectar from flower buds of the bertam palm Eugeissona tristis (with up to 3.8% alcohol content) the entire year without it having any effects on behaviour. Treeshrews have also been observed intentionally eating foods high in capsaicin ,
460-441: The past, and the above tree is only a well-favored proposal. Although it is known that Scandentia is one of the most basal euarchontoglire clades, the exact phylogenetic position is not yet considered resolved: It may be a sister of Glires, Primatomorpha, or Dermoptera , or separate from and sister to all other Euarchontoglires. Shared short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) offer strong evidence for Scandentia belonging to
483-512: The presence or absence of a cecum in the large intestine. In his 1866 Generelle morphologie der organismen , Ernest Haeckel named these groups Menotyphla and Lipotyphla, respectively from μένω ("remain")/ λείπω ("lack" or "leave behind") + τυφλὸν literally "blind", as in τυφλὸν ἔντερον ("blind intestine", from which the Latin intestinum caecum derives as a calque ). Since the late 1990s, molecular studies have produced evidence that
SECTION 20
#1732779960501506-411: The primates and moved into their own clade . Taxonomists continue to refine the treeshrews' relations to primates and to other closely related clades. Molecular phylogenetic studies have suggested that the treeshrews should be given the same rank ( order ) as the primates and, with the primates and the flying lemurs (colugos), belong to the grandorder Euarchonta . According to this classification,
529-498: The tree are the suborders Solenodonota and Erinaceota, respectively. These two branches are estimated to have split ~72–74 million years ( Ma ) ago. The Nesophontidae and Solenodontidae are thought to have separated roughly 57 Ma ago. Split times for talpids vs. soricids plus erinaceids, and for soricids vs. erinaceids, have been estimated at 69 Ma and 64 Ma ago, respectively. Treeshrew The treeshrews (also called tree shrews or banxrings ) are small mammals native to
#500499