Species of Thailand
Pen-tailed treeshrew
Ptilocercus lowii
John Edward Gray, 1848
The pen-tailed treeshrew (Ptilocercus lowii) is a treeshrew of the family Ptilocercidae native to southern Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and some Indonesian islands.
It is the only living species in the genus Ptilocercus. All other treeshrew species are grouped in the family Tupaiidae.
Distribution and habitat
The pen-tailed treeshrew occurs from southern Thailand and the Malay Peninsula to northern Sumatra, Siberut, Bangka Island and northwestern Borneo. It inhabits foremost primary forest up to an elevation of 1200 m, where undergrowth is dense.
Behaviour and ecology
Pen-tailed treeshrews studied in Malaysia spent several hours per night consuming naturally fermented nectar of the bertam palm. This nectar contains one of the highest alcohol concentrations of all natural foods. The pen-tailed treeshrews did not show any signs of intoxication, although they frequently consumed large amounts of this nectar, equivalent of 10–12 glasses of wine adjusted to body weight with an alcohol content up to 3.8%. Measurements of a biomarker of alcohol dehydrogenase suggest that they may be metabolizing it by a pathway that is not used as heavily by humans. Their ability to ingest high amounts of alcohol is hypothesized to have been an evolutionary adaptation. How pen-tailed treeshrews benefit from this alcohol ingestion or what consequences of consistent high blood alcohol content might factor into their physiology is unclear.
Taxonomy and evolutionary history
The Ptilocercidae are a family within the order Scandentia. Numerous morphological and genetic differences support the classification of the Ptilocercidae as a separate family from the rest of the treeshrews which diverged around 60 million years ago. Treeshrews are considered very close relatives of primates, with the colugos being closer to primates.
This article uses material from Wikipedia released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike Licence 3.0. Eventual photos shown in this page may or may not be from Wikipedia, please see the license details for photos in photo by-lines.
Scientific classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Subkingdom
- Eumetazoa
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Subphylum
- Vertebrata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Subclass
- Theria
- Order
- Scandentia
- Family
- Ptilocercidae
- Genus
- Ptilocercus
- Species
- Ptilocercus lowii
Common names
- English:
- Pen-tailed treeshrew
- Feather-tailed treeshrew
Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN3.1)
Photos
Please help us review our species pages if wrong photos are used or any other details in the page is wrong. We can be reached via our contact us page.
Range Map

- Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary