Common Treeshrew

• It is widely used as a biomedical research model because it is so closely related to the primates.
• It eats fallen fruit, seeds, leaves and invertebrates such as ants and spiders.
• It reaches sexual maturity at 3 months, among the earliest of any placental mammal.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)

Habitat and environment

Dense lowland rainforest of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia

Birth weight

10-13 grams

Size at birth

Wholly helpless at birth, fed by its mother only every other day

Sexual maturity

~3 months (90 days), among the earliest sexual maturity of any placental mammal

Gestation / incubation

40-52 days

Litter / clutch size

1 to 3 young per litter, with up to 2-2.5 litters per year

Life expectancy in captivity

Documented record of up to 12.4-12.5 years in captivity

Sources consulted: World Species · Thai National Parks · Reko Forest · AnAge (genomics.senescence.info) · AnimalHub · Wikipedia (Common treeshrew) · Animal Diversity Web

Best time: All year round in the forests of Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, by day; it moves restlessly across the ground and over low trunks.

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.