312 INSECTIVORES. 



bats, wliich appear to be the ancestral groups of the order to which they belong, 

 having in all probabilitj' been directh' derived from insect-eating Insectivores. 

 The cobego should, indeed, be regarded rather as the sole representative of a side 

 branch, which, while to some extent simulating the bats, never gave rise to any 

 descendants showing the special moditications for tnie flight. 



The Tree-Shrews, or Tupaias. 

 Family TuPAllD^. 



With the tree-shrews, or tupaias, we come to the first family of the time 

 Insectivores, or those which are incapable of flight, and have their front or incisor 

 teeth of a normal form. 



The tree-shrews, which are entireh* confined to the Oriental region, take their 

 name from their strictly arboreal habits ; and are small, long-tailed animals, so 

 closely resembling the smaller squirrels in external appearance as to be frequently 

 mistaken for them. Indeed, it appeare that the native term Tupai, from which 

 tiiese animals derive their second title, is applied indifferently by the Malays both 

 to them an(l to squirrels : the affix Tana serving to denote the members of the 

 present group. That they have reallj' nothing to do with the squirrels is shown 

 by an examination of their teetli, when it will be found that, instead of the 

 single pair of chisel-like incisor teeth, they have two pairs of small incisors in 

 the upper jaw, and three pairs in the lower. 



The tree-shrews belong to a group of Insectivores characterised 



Clifl.T'fl.f'tfinistiPS 



' by their upper molar teeth, having broad crowns carrying a number 



of cusps, arranged in the form of the letter W. They are peculiar in that the 



socket of the ej'e, or orbit, is surrounded by a bony i"ing, whereas in other members 



of the order it is open behind. They are further distinguished from the other true 



Insectivores not only by their completely arboreal, but likewise by their diurnal. 



habits, as thej' feed entirely by daj-. They resemble squirrels in the general 



form of the bodj' and limbs, and in possessing a more or less bushy tail. 



They have 38 teeth, of which § are incisors, \ canines, and ^ cheek-teeth, on 



either side of each jaw. Their feet, like those of squirrels, are naked beneath, 



with moderately curved and shai-p claws. The muzzle is sharply pointed, the ears 



are small and rounded, and the long hair of the bushy tail is confined to its upper 



surface and sides, the under-surface having much shorter hair. 



iVltogether, there are about thirteen species of the genus 

 Distribution. ^ .",.,, .,,..,. , ^ • , i • 



1 upaia, which have a wide custnbution over the Onental region. 



They are found in India, Burma, the Malaj' Peninsula, the Xicobar Islands, 

 Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the Philippines. Thej" are very much alike in general 

 appearance, the species differing mainly in respect of size and colour, as well as 

 in the length of the fur. Many are restricted to particular islands ; the Bornean 

 tree-shrew, the Nicobar tree-shrew, and the recently discovered Philippine tree- 

 shrew, being unknown out of the islands from which the}' take their names. 

 Others, again, have even a still more restricted distribution ; two species having 

 hitherto been obtained onlv in the forests of Mount Dulit in North Borneo. 



