The Bornean Smooth-tailed Treeshrew (Dendrogale melanura) is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of treeshrew

Treeshrew

The treeshrews are small mammals native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They make up the families Tupaiidae, the treeshrews, and Ptilocercidae, the pen-tailed treeshrews, and the entire order Scandentia. There are 20 species in 5 genera...

 in the Tupaiidae

Tupaiidae

Tupaiidae is one of two families of treeshrews, the other family being Ptilocercidae. It contains 4 genera and 19 species.-Taxonomy:*Order: Scandentia** Family Tupaiidae*** Genus Anathana**** Madras Treeshrew, Anathana ellioti...

 family. It is endemic to Malaysia. Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 is subtropical or tropical dry forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Description

Head and body length is 5in (13 cm), with tail length 4.5in (11 cm). The body mass is about 1.5oz (43g). Has small body. Upperparts of body are dark brown, meanwhile the underparts of the body is orange-buff with gray bases, and shiny black with reddish streaking along the sides. Has a short snout, with large ear flaps. Prominent orange-brown ring 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 present. The claws are notably sharp. Has a thin tail covered with fine smooth hair and darkening towards the tip. D. m. melanura has darker colour above and more reddish below than D. m. baluensis.

Habitat

D. melanura is a terrestrial species. They are diurnal

Diurnal

Diurnal may refer to:* Diurnal cycle, any pattern that recurs daily** Diurnality, the behavior of animals and plants that are active in the daytime* Diurnal motion, the apparent motion of stars around the Earth...

 and predominantly arboreal. Live in evergreen rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

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

Distribution

The species are endemic to Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, restricted in the mountains of the north-west above 900m, including the mountain of north-eastern Sarawak

Sarawak

Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

, Gunung Kinabalu and Gunung Trus Madi in Sabah

Sabah

Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...

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

Threats and Conservation

This species is listed under data deficient because it have not have been recorded since the early 1970s. The major threats for these species are loss of habitat due to the agricultural expansion and conversion of land to non-tree plantations at lower elevation. This species may warrant listing in Near Threatened or higher. The conservation actions only occur at Crocker Range National Park, Sabah, Malaysia.