Northern treeshrew


The northern treeshrew is a treeshrew species native to Southeast Asia.
In 1841, the German zoologist Johann Andreas Wagner first used the specific name Cladobates belangeri for treeshrews that had been collected in Pegu during a French expedition to Southeast Asia. These specimens were described by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1834 in whose opinion they did not differ sufficiently from Tupaia tana to assign a specific rank.

Characteristics

Results of a telemetry study involving northern treeshrews showed that their body temperature varies from during the night to during the day. This difference is larger than in other endotherms, and indicates that the circadian rhythms of body temperature and locomotor activity are synchronized.
Adult weight: 0.2 kg
Maximum longevity: 11 years

Phylogeny

Complete mitochondrial genome data support the hypothesis of a closer phylogenetic relationship of Tupaia to rabbits than to primates. This is however disputed by the more recent full genome sequencing data that places the species closer to primates than to lagomorphs and rodents.

In medical research

Tupaia belangeri has attained growing interest for use as a medical model. In 2002, an article was published describing that the primary hepatocytes of T. belangeri could be used as a model for studying the Hepatitis C virus, which is a major cause of chronic hepatitis worldwide.
Other scientists used Tupaia belangeri to study the development of photo reception, investigation of retinal cones, and refractive state and ocular component dimensions of the eye. Many studies have been done regarding eye structure, development, and vision using the Tupaia belangeri model because of the similarity to human eye structure and sight that is uncharacteristic of conventional small lab animals, such as rodents.