Madras Treeshrew

Fascinating facts about the Madras Treeshrew

• At just 16-18.5 cm long with a 16.5-19.5 cm tail, the Madras treeshrew fits on a ruler – yet its body houses a full set of 38 teeth (dental formula 2.1.3.3 × 2), a clue that it eats both insects and seeds.
• When it darts across rocky hills, the treeshrew climbs a slanted trunk and slides head-first down, a motion likely tied to scent-marking from throat glands – a behavior you won’t see in the nearby squirrels.
• Three subspecies stretch from the Eastern Ghats to the Satpura Range, with the northernmost record in Garhwa, Bihar, showing how patchy its Indian distribution really is despite being called “common” back in 1975.
• A single sucking louse, Docophthirus acinetus, lives only on this treeshrew, illustrating a highly specialized host-parasite partnership within the Tupaiidae family.
• Even the powerful Crested Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) has been recorded hunting this tiny mammal, reminding us that being small on the ground doesn’t make you safe from sky-borne predators.

At a glance

About the Madras Treeshrew

The Madras treeshrew (Anathana ellioti) is a diminutive forest dweller, measuring 16.0–18.5 cm in body length with a tail almost as long, 16.5–19.5 cm, that mirrors the hue of its back in the nominate form. Its coat is a rich reddish-brown above, while the feet and hind limbs range from buff to ochraceous, a palette that shifts subtly among its three described races, pallida with grizzled buffy limbs, and wroughtoni with dull, grizzled brownish-grey tones. Its dental formula (2.1.3.3 × 2) reveals 38 teeth perfectly suited for an omnivorous diet of insects and seeds, a diet reflected in its ground-oriented habits. Though not a true arboreal specialist, the treeshrew darts across leaf-litter and clambers over rocky outcrops, often climbing low, slanting trunks only to slide down head-first, a behavior likely linked to scent-marking from throat glands common to Scandentia. A single species of sucking louse, Docophthirus acinetus, lives exclusively on it, underscoring a tight host-parasite relationship that few mammals share. In the tangled hill forests of the Eastern Ghats, Biligirirangan, the Shevaroy Hills, and farther north to the Satpura Range and the Dangs near Bombay, this agile forager navigates a patchy landscape where the Crested Hawk-eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus) may swoop down as a rare predator, reminding us that even modest-sized mammals occupy critical niches in India’s montane ecosystems.

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