Tupaia (genus)
| Tupaia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Pygmy treeshrew | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Scandentia |
| Family: | Tupaiidae |
| Genus: |
Tupaia Raffles, 1821 |
| Synonyms | |
|
Chladobates Schinz, 1824 |
|
Chladobates Schinz, 1824
Cladobates F. Cuvier, 1825
Gladobates Schinz, 1824
Glipora Jentink, 1888
Glirisorex Scudder, 1882
Glisorex Desmarest, 1822
Glisosorex Giebel, 1855
Hylogale Temminck, 1827
Hylogalea Schlegel and Mueller, 1843
Lyonogale Conisbee, 1953
Palaeotupaia Chopra and Vasishat, 1979
Sorex-glis É. Geoffroy and F. Cuvier, 1822
Tana Lyon, 1913
Tapaia Gray, 1860
Tupaja Haeckel, 1866
Tupaya É. Geoffroy and F. Cuvier, 1822
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 squirrels or small animals that resemble squirrels.
Raffles described the genus as having an elongated snout, eight to 10 incisors, well-developed limbs, five-toed naked feet, and the sole furnished with projecting pads and sharp claws, with a habit and tail of a squirrel.
Marcus Ward Lyon published a revision of the genus in 1913, and also noted the squirrel-like appearance of Tupaia species, which only lack the long black whiskers and have smaller ears. They do not have any markings on the face, the naked area of the nose is finely reticulated, an oblique stripe on the shoulder is more or less distinct, and the tail is haired but not tufted. The braincase is about as wide as the maxillary tooth row is long. The temporal fossa is smaller than the orbit. The dental formula is 2.1.3.33.1.3.3. The first pair of upper incisors is longer than the second, while the second pair of lower incisors is slightly larger than the first and third pairs. The lower canines are better developed than the upper ones and stand high above the adjacent premolars. The size of head, body, and tail varies between species.
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