Madras Tree Shrew
From Freepedia
| Madras Tree Shrew | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Anathana ellioti.jpg | ||||||||||||||
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| Anathana ellioti (Waterhouse, 1850) |
The Madras Tree Shrew (Anathana ellioti) is a monotypic species of tree shrew is found in the hill forests of central and southern India, south of the Himalayas. The genus name is derived from the Tamil name of Moongil Anathaan which means bamboo squirrel and the species names is after Sir Walter Elliot of the Indian Civil Services in Madras.
This tree shrew is 16.0 to 18.5 cms long with a tail of 16.5 to 19.5 cm. Their dental formula is I 2/3 C 1/1 P 3/3 M 3/3.
Indian or Madras Tree Shrews are found on the Indian subcontinent south of the Ganges River. Three subspecies are known - A. e. ellioti of the Eastern Ghats, Biligirirangan and the Shevaroy Hills of Southern India, A. e. pallida from Central India primarily in Madhya Pradesh and Raipur and A. e. wroughtoni from the the Satpura Range and the Dangs near Bombay.
This species of treesshrew is not particularly arboreal and spends much of its time on the ground or clambering about on rocky terrain in the search of insects and seeds. They are easily separated from the squirrels in the field by the shape and color of the tail and the upward curve in which they are held when walking about.
