Tupaia tana, Raffles, 1821

Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2018, Tupaiidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 8 Insectivores, Sloths and Colugos, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 242-269 : 266

13.

Large Treeshrew

Tupaia tana

French: Toupaye terrestre / German: GroRes Spitzhérnchen / Spanish: Tupaya grande

Taxonomy. Tupaia tana Raffles, 1821 ,

Sumatra, Indonesia.

Subspecific characterization of 7. tana by K. M. Helgen in 2005 is followed here; ten subspecies occur on Borneo. Fifteen subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

T.t.tanaRaffles,1821—Sumatra.

T.t.bangueiChasen&Kloss,1932—BanggiI,offNBorneo.

T.t.besaraLyon,1913—WKalimantanNofKapuasRiver,WBorneo.1t.bunoaeG.S.Miller,1900—TambelanArchipelago,oftWBorneo.

T.t.cervicalisG.S.Miller,1903—TanahbalainBatuIs,offWSumatra.

T.t.chrysuraGunther,1876—SWSabah,oppositeLabuanI,NWBorneo.

T.t.kelabitD.D.Davis,1958—KelabitPlateau,NCBorneo.

T:t.kretamiD.D.Davis,1962—KinabatanganandLahadDatudistricts,ESabah,NEBorneo.

T.t.lingaeLyon,1913—LinggaI,offESumatra.

T.t.masaeLyon,1913—TanahmasainBatuIs,offWSumatra.

T.t.nitidaChasen,1933—SSarawak,WBorneo.1t.paitanaLyon,1913—SabahandNorthKalimantan,NBorneo.

T.t.sirhassenensisG.S.Miller,1901—SerasanIinNatunaIs,offWBorneo.1.1.speciosaWagner,1841—E&SBorneo.

T: t. utara Lyon, 1913 — Brunei and N Sarawak, W Borneo. Also present on Tuangku and Bangkaru Is (Banyak Is, off NW Sumatra), Bintan (Riau Archipelago), Bangka, and Belitung, but subspecies involved not known.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 175-210 mm, tail 150-195 mm, ear 15-20 mm, hindfoot 43-55 mm; weight 200-300 g. The Large Treeshrew is large-bodied, with long nose. It is also one of the most recognizable species because three dark lines run across anterior part of dorsum, ending halfway down back. Numerous subspecies are described based on pelage differences, with some subspecies having very different colored tails (red to brown to yellow). The Large Treeshrew has elongated front claws used for digging and very long rostrum.

Habitat. Lowland forests up to elevations of ¢.1500 m. The Large Treeshrew is found in increased densities in some secondary and logged forests;it also occurs in fruit plantations butis notably absent from unforested agricultural lands.

Food and Feeding. The Large Treeshrew eats insects and fruit, with a specialty on ants and earthworms. It forages by searching through leaf litter for invertebrates, and it moves slowly while probing leaf litter with its long nose in search of food.

Breeding. The Large Treeshrew breeds in monogamous pairs; however, females were found to seek extra-pair copulations with other males. Extra-pair paternity was estimated near 50% in Bornean populations of the Large Treeshrew. Males do not help raising young, and females exhibit absentee paternal care. Young are known to remain in natal nest while female is gone and will not flee even when handled. Nests are constructed in dead tree stumps, hollow living trees, tops of samplings, or treefalls. Most nests are well hidden, constructed of leaves, and situated at least slightly off the ground (0-2 —8 m). Female-biased dispersal was documented by J. Munshi-South in 2007. This parallels female choice for mates and extra-pair copulations documented for the Large Treeshrew.

Activity patterns. The Large Treeshrew is diurnal and one of the moststrictly terrestrial treeshrew species. It is active throughout the daylight hours and rests relatively little during the day.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Despite its large size, home ranges of Large Treeshrews were not related to body mass. Home range of 20 individuals averaged 4-1 ha. The Large Treeshrew also traveled at a relatively slow pace; rate of movement was c.105 m/h, averaging 1078 m/day. It also has one of the highest densities of treeshrews, averaging 49 ind/km? or c.10-8 kg/km? The Large Treeshrew has been described as having a dispersed pair-living system, where an adult male and female share a defended territory, but forage, travel, and sleep separately. These territories bordered 1-3 extra-pair individuals on flanks of the core territory. The Large Treeshrew displaces all smaller treeshrew species when fruit trees produce mast, although antagonistic behaviors have not been documented.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Large Treeshrew is relatively tolerant of disturbance, butit requires invertebrate food and is not found in areas where leaflitter is missing or has been destroyed.

Bibliography. Cassola (2016e), Helgen (2005), Munshi-South (2007), Munshi-South et al. (2007), Phillipps & Phillipps (2016).

Figures

1. Northern Smooth-tailed Treeshrew (Dendrogale murina), 2. Bornean Smooth-tailed Treeshrew (Dendrogale melanura), 3. Madras Treeshrew (Anathana ellioti), 4. Northern Treeshrew (Tupaia belangeri), 5. Lesser Treeshrew (Tupaia minor), 6. Common Treeshrew (Tupaia glis), 7. Nicobar Treeshrew (Tupaia nicobarica), 8. Sumatran Treeshrew (Tupaia ferruginea), 9. Golden-bellied Treeshrew (Tupaia chrysogaster), 10. Banka Island Treeshrew (Tupaia discolor), 11. Horsfield’s Treeshrew (Tupaia javanica), 12. Javan Treeshrew (Tupaia hypochrysa), 13. Large Treeshrew (Tupaia tana), 14. Long-footed Treeshrew (Tupaia longipes), 15. Slender Treeshrew (Tupaia gracilis), 16. Mountain Treeshrew (Tupaia montana), 17. Striped Treeshrew (Tupaia dorsalis), 18. Painted Treeshrew (Tupaia picta), 19. Kalimantan Treeshrew (Tupaia salatana), 20. Splendid Treeshrew (Tupaia splendidula), 21. Mindanao Treeshrew (Tupaia everetti), 22. Palawan Treeshrew (Tupaia palawanensis)

Subspecies and Distribution. T.t.tanaRaffles,1821—Sumatra. T.t.bangueiChasen&Kloss,1932—BanggiI,offNBorneo. T.t.besaraLyon,1913—WKalimantanNofKapuasRiver,WBorneo.1t.bunoaeG.S.Miller,1900—TambelanArchipelago,oftWBorneo. T.t.cervicalisG.S.Miller,1903—TanahbalainBatuIs,offWSumatra. T.t.chrysuraGunther,1876—SWSabah,oppositeLabuanI,NWBorneo. T.t.kelabitD.D.Davis,1958—KelabitPlateau,NCBorneo. T:t.kretamiD.D.Davis,1962—KinabatanganandLahadDatudistricts,ESabah,NEBorneo. T.t.lingaeLyon,1913—LinggaI,offESumatra. T.t.masaeLyon,1913—TanahmasainBatuIs,offWSumatra. T.t.nitidaChasen,1933—SSarawak,WBorneo.1t.paitanaLyon,1913—SabahandNorthKalimantan,NBorneo. T.t.sirhassenensisG.S.Miller,1901—SerasanIinNatunaIs,offWBorneo.1.1.speciosaWagner,1841—E&SBorneo. T: t. utara Lyon, 1913 — Brunei and N Sarawak, W Borneo. Also present on Tuangku and Bangkaru Is (Banyak Is, off NW Sumatra), Bintan (Riau Archipelago), Bangka, and Belitung, but subspecies involved not known.