The Bornean smooth-tailed treeshrew (''Dendrogale melanura'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals 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" treeshrew ...

in the family Tupaiidae. 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 els ...

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, 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 Isl ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical dry

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Description

Head and body length is , with tail length . The body mass is about . Upper parts of the small body are dark brown, while the under parts are orange-buff with gray bases, and shiny black with reddish streaking along the sides. It has a short snout, with large ear flaps. Prominent orange-brown rings exist around the eyes, with weakly marked facial streaks present on both side of the face, extending from the snout to ears. No shoulder streaks are present. The claws are notably sharp. The thin tail is covered with fine, smooth hair, with darkening towards the tip. ''D. m. melanura'' has darker colour above and more reddish below than ''D. m. baluensis''.Francis, C.M. & Payne, J. (2005). A field guide to the mammals of Borneo. Malaysia: Sabah Society

Habitat

''D. melanura'' is a terrestrial species. They are diurnal and predominantly

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ...

. Live in evergreen

rainforest 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 rainfo ...

, which active in mossy trees and on rocky boulders in submontane and montane pristine forest. This species seems to feed predominantly on

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

Distribution

The species is

, restricted in the mountains of the northwest above 900 m, including the mountain of northeastern

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, ...

, Gunung Kinabalu, and Gunung Trus Madi in

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 ...

. ''D. m. melanura'' is recorded from Gunung Dulit, Gunung Mulu, and the Kelabit uplands in northern Sarawak, and from the Sabah-Sarawak border. Meanwhile, ''D. m. baluensis'' is recorded from Gunung Kinabalu and Gunung Trus Madi in Sabah.

Status

This species is listed as data deficient because it has not recorded since the early 1970s and it was formerly listed as Vulnerable from 1996 to 2008. The major threats for this species are

loss of habitat Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

due to the

agricultural expansion Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land ( arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and e ...

and conversion of land to nontree plantations at lower elevations. This species may warrant listing in Near Threatened or higher. The conservation actions only occur at Crocker Range National Park, Sabah, Malaysia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1766607 Treeshrews Endemic fauna of Borneo Mammals of Borneo Mammals of Malaysia Mammals described in 1892 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Mammals of Indonesia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot