BLACK-STRIPED WEASELS
Stripe-backed weasels (Mustela strigidorsa) belong to the musteleid (or weasel) family, which also includes otters, badgers, wolverines, and skunks. They are found throughout eastern Asia, with a range that extends from the eastern Himalayas into southern China and the northern Southeast Asia. Weasels, ferrets, minks, sables, martens and polecats are closely related. Stripe-backed weasels are often misidentified but confirmed sightings have occured in northern India, central Myanmar, southern China, northern Thailand and central and northern Laos and Vietnam. The southern limit of the species is not known. [Source: Reynaud Stewart, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Stripe-backed weasels live in temperate and tropical land environments in thick jungle, evergreen forests, dense hill jungle, scrubby regenerating forest, river valleys, mountains and temperate forests at elevations from 90 to 2500 meters (295.28 to 8202.10 feet). Their habitat preferences have been largely inferred from the hunting by indigenous people. Those living at low altitudes appear to prefer rugged terrain.
Stripe-backed weasels are widespread, but do not appear to exist in large numbers. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies them as a species of “Least Concern”. They are considered an endangered species in China and have protected status in Thailand. Stripe-backed weasels are trapped and hunted for food and fur by indigenous populations in Asia, although some indigenous people describe their meat as foul-smelling. Their pelts are not very value; only 3,000 to 4,000 documented pelts were harvested per year, in China during the 1970s. There have been reports of stripe-backed weasels killing domestic chickens, but the accuracy of these reports is questionable because they are often confused with mongooses and other small carnivores.
Stripe-backed weasels are primarily carnivores (mainly eat meat or animal parts) and mostly eat terrestrial vertebrates. Little is known about their dietary habits. One potential prey species is the bandicoot rat. One study documented a stripe-backed weasel attacking a bandicoot rat by biting and holding onto its nose. Stripe-backed weasels have been observed foraging around dead logs, examining the cracks and crevices, possibly searching for insects, grubs and worms that reside within the logs. Likewise, one record documented a weasel hunting and capturing an unidentified rat near a stream.
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Black-Striped Weasels Characteristics and Behavior
range of black-striped weasel
Stripe-backed weasels range in weight from one to two kilograms (2.2 to 4.4 pounds). 35.24 to 70.48 ounces). Their head and body length ranges from 30 to 36 centimeters (11.8 to 14.2 inches). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. Their tail is long, measuring 18 to 20 centimeters (7 to 7.9 inches). Stripe-backed weasels are reddish brown in color and have a distinctive, thin, cream-colored stripe running from their neck down the center of their back and onto their tails. Their chins and chests are yellow cream color. Their eyes are black and small and the external parts of the ear are hidden by fur. Their dental formula is typical of that of mustelid : I3/3, C1/1, PM3/3, M1/2 = 34. [Source: Reynaud Stewart, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Stripe-backed weasels are elusive creatures and most field sightings have been made during the day but they are probably very active at night. Their behavioral traits have not been well documented. The most likely have intra-sexual ranges, in which a male's range is significantly larger than a females and overlaps with range of females. They sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell and communicate with chemicals usually detected by smelling. They scent-mark their home ranges and this most likely is an intraspecfic communication mechanism for maintaining territories.
Little is known about breeding behaviors or parential involvement of stripe-backed weasels but is believed they are polygynous (males have more than one female as a mate at one time). They may employ delayed implantation (a condition in which a fertilized egg reaches the uterus but delays its implantation in the uterine lining, sometimes for several months), a reproductive trait that is fairly uncommon in mustelids. /=\
Malayan Weasels
Malayan weasels (Mustela nudipes) inhabit the Sundaic sub-region of Southeast Asia — Borneo, Sumatra and the Malaysia-Thailand peninsula. Although information on them is limited it is presumed they have similar habitats as other weasels. They have has been found in both forested and deforested areas near urban areas at elevations from sea level to 1700 meters (5577 feet). Two subspecies of Malayan weasels are recognized: 1) Mustela nudipes nudipes and 2) Mustela nudipes leucocephalus. Lifespans of Malayan weasels have not been studied. They are thought to live between three and 10 years based on the closely related Siberian weasel. [Source: Jodie Kohlmann, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Malayan weasels are carnivores (mainly eat meat or animal parts) and are also recognized as insectivores (mainly eat insects). They eat a wide variety of small rodents, insects and terrestrial non-insect arthropods as well small birds, lizards, other reptiles, amphibians and eggs. They hunt and forage for food by searching on logs, boulders, burrows, and holes.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies Malayan weasels as a species of “Least Concern”. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. However, they are protected in Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sabah. Population sizes have been slowly decreasing presumably because of hunting and loss of habitat. Malayan weasels are used for medicinal purposes and hunted for their skin for hats, food, and trophies. Some cultures believe that burning their fur will eliminate ghosts and evil spirits. They are welcomed in some rural areas because they prey on rodent pests but have also been described as pests that take chickens. Pythons are the only documented predators of Malayan weasels.
Malayan Weasel Characteristics and Behavior
Malayan weasels have a head and body length that ranges from 30 to 36 centimeters (11.8 to 14.2 inches), with a tail length of 24 to 26 centimeters (9.4 to 10.2 inches). Their fur color ranges from orange-brown to gray-white. The tip of their tail is yellow-white, and the head is a much lighter color (often white) than the rest of its body. There is no fur around the pads on the soles of the feet. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) may be is present: In other Mustela species, males are often larger than females.
Malayan weasels are terricolous (live on the ground), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary) and sedentary (remain in the same area). They are shy members and tend to be solitary, but have been sighted in pairs. They are primarily terrestrial, but have observed swimming. Their movements are quiet. They favor zig-zagging running pattern. While foraging, they run on the ground and jump into logs in search of food. /=\
Malayan weasels sense using vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected with smell and communicate with touch, sound and chemicals usually detected by smelling. Communication patterns of Malayan weasels have not been studied but they do use warning calls and screeches to communicate and warn each other that predators are near. Other weasels vocalize with trills, squeals, screeches, and purrs during mating seasons or warning signals. They also use musk glands to mark territories or hunting areas.
The reproduction of Malayan weasels has not been studied. Other mustelids species are usually polygynous, with males competing for access to females. The breeding season and parental involvement of Malayan weasels have not been reported but the average number of offspring is four. Pre-weaning stage provisioning and protecting are done by females.
Indonesian Mountain Weasels
Indonesian mountain weasels (Mustela lutreolina) are among the rarest weasel species. They are found only on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. As their name suggests, they live in mountainous regions of Indonesia, often in tropical rainforest, at elevations from 1,000 to 2,200 meters (3,280 to 7,218 feet). Little is known about Indonesian mountain weasels. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there are only 15 known specimens and of those only 12 have a locality.[Source: Amelia Hunt, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Weasels are completely carnivorous and it is asumed that has to be the case with Indonesian mountain weasels. Foods include birds, mammals, amphibians, other errestrial vertebrates and eggs. They are especially good at catching rodents and their agility and speed allows them to kill prey much larger than themselves and are also adept at removing rodents from their burrows. Some species of weasels are known to stay at one prey den until all the prey have been eaten.
On the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Indonesian mountain weasels are listed as Endangered. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they have no special status. They are endangered because they are endemic to a very small area and that area is fragmented and pressured by human development,
Indonesian Mountain Weasel Characteristics, Behavior and Reproduction
Indonesian mountain weasels range in weight from 295 to 340 grams (10.4 to 12 ounces) and have a head and body length that ranges from 29.7 to 32.1 centimeters (11.7 to 12.6 inches). The tail is about 13.6 to 17 centimeters long (5.3 to 6.7 inches). Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are larger than females. /=\
There is very little information specifically on the Indonesian mountain weasel. They have reddish-brown fur and a foramen on their skull by which they can be identified. This foramen is located "in the medial part of the auditory bullae, mid-way along the anterior-posterior axis, at the point where the bullae attach to the skull". Weasels in general have long, slender bodies with short legs, which allows them to enter any place in which they can stick their heads.
Indonesian mountain weasels are terricolous (live on the ground), fossorial (engaged in a burrowing life-style or behavior, and good at digging or burrowing), nocturnal (active at night), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary) and solitary. They sense using vision, touch, sound and chemicals usually detected with smell and communicate with chemicals usually detected by smelling. As with other weasel species Indonesian mountain weasels communicate primarily with odors and secondarily with "clicks" or other auditory noises. They leave scent marks produced by special glands and placed so others can smell and taste them.
The specifics of Indonesian mountain weasel mating habits are unknown. Weasels are solitary creatures and the mating season is often the only time adults will interact with one another. Members of the badgers, otters, and weasels family tend to have a polygnous mating system in which the males will fight for access to a female. These fights can be extremely vicious.
Indonesian mountain weasels engage in seasonal breeding, usually mating from March to May. The average gestation period is 30 days. The number of offspring ranges from two to 12. Parental care is provided by females. Even though the young are born with their eyes shut and with very little fur they and takes about a month for their eyes to fully open, they are fully weaned after two months and may leave their mothers at that although they prefer to remain with her until autumn. On average females and males reach sexual or reproductive maturity at one year.
Yellow-Throated Martens
Yellow-throated martens (Martes flavigula) are also known as kharza. They live in forested regions throughout Southern and Eastern Asia. Their range extends throughout the Himalayas, as far west as Pakistan and Afghanistan, into Southeast Asia, as far south as Sumatra, Borneo and Java in Indonesia, and as far north as the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese-Russian border. They occupy a variety of habitats, preferring mixed forests composed of spruce and broad-leaved trees and coniferous taiga forests in the northern part of their range. In southern part of their range, in Northern India, Pakistan, and Nepal, they inhabit lowland swamps and marshes as well as treeless mountains. They live at elevations from sea level to 3000 meters (0.00 to 9842.52 feet). Little is known about the lifespan of yellow-throated martens in the wild. One individual lived 16 years in captivity. [Source: Marcus Shak, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Yellow-throated martens are omnivores (eat a variety of things, including plants and animals). Animal foods include birds, small mammals (squirrels, hares, mouse-like rodents, etc.), amphibians, reptiles, fish, eggs. insects and mollusks. Among the plant foods they eat are seeds, grains, nuts and fruit. Unlike other martens, yellow-throated martens do not eat carrion. Their diet varies depending on location and season. In the northern part of their range, they prey upon musk deer, which they hunt in groups by surrounding the prey and attack it from different directions. They often chase prey onto frozen lakes and rivers where they are easier to kill. Because they rely on musk deer as a prey source, the population of yellow-throated martens tends to rise and fall with musk deer populations. In warmer and lower-elevation areas yellow-throated martens more frequently consume lizards, rodents and fruits. When both are available in abundance they favor fruit over rodents. This preference for fruit has not been observed in any other marten. /=\
Yellow-throated martens are not endangered. They are considered a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to their wide distribution and stable populations throughout Asia. They are protected in Myanmar, Malaysia, and China. One subspecies, yellow-throated martens chrysospila (Formosan yellow-throated marten) is considered endangered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. Yellow-throated martens in India are also listed on Appendix III of CITES. Unlike other mustelids, the fur of yellow-throated martens is not valuable enough to justify the trouble of hunting and trapping them. They have no natural predators, and they generally compete with other predators for food. In some regions, yellow-throated martens prey upon sables, a valuable fur-bearing animals but yellow-throated martens population levels are not high enough to have a negative impact on the fur industry. /=\
Yellow-Throated Marten Characteristics and Behavior
Yellow-throated martens are the second largest Old World marten after the Nilgiri marten and notable for their flexible and muscular bodies. They range in weight from 1.2 to 5.7 kilograms (2.6 to 12.7 pounds) and have a head and body length that ranges from 50 to 72 centimeters (19.7 to 28.3 inches). Their lengthy tail is about two-thirds of their body and head length. Sexual Dimorphism (differences between males and females) is present: Males are slightly larger than females. The average weight of males is 3.3 kilograms; for females it is 2.8 kilograms. The average length for males is 61.2 centimeters; for females it is 57.5 centimeters. [Source:Marcus Shak, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Marcus Shak wrote in Animal Diversity Web: Yellow-throated martens have a unique coloration, though it can vary considerably across individuals and subspecies. The head is black or dark brown, the back and underside are light brown or yellow, the chest and throat are bright yellow or golden, and the tail is mostly black or dark brown. Summer coloration is darker and duller than in winter. This color pattern, particularly the yellow throat for which it is named, distinguishes yellow-throated martens from other species in the genus. In 2005, nine subspecies of yellow-throated marten were recognized, distinguished by slight variation in coloring and fur. In general, these subspecies are distinguished by the presence or absence of a naked area of skin on the hind foot and the length and color of the animal’s winter coat.
Yellow-throated martens are scansorial (able to or good at climbing), terricolous (live on the ground), diurnal (active during the daytime), crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk), motile (move around as opposed to being stationary), sedentary (remain in the same area) and social (associates with others of its species; forms social groups). The home range of yellow-throated martens can be quite large — 1.7 to 11.8 square kilometers, with the average territory size being 7.2 square kilometers. They regularly travel 10 to 20 kilometers in a single day in the northern parts of their range, but appear to travel less in other areas. In Thailand, they travel about one kilometer per day and have an annual range of 7.2 square kilometers. /=\
Yellow-throated martens sense using vision, touch and chemicals usually detected with smell. \ They communicate with vision and leave scent marks produced by special glands and placed so others can smell and taste them. They are mostly diurnal, though they has been observed being active at night. Unlike many mustelids, they are not solitary and instead are often observed moving in groups of two and occasionally three, sometimes hunting prey together. In general, yellow-throated martens tend to stick to the ground, but they can more than able tree climbers, and capable of jumping between trees as far as eight or nine meters apart. They are also known for their lack of fear of humans. When an individual encounters a large, noisy group of people, it is slow to flee. Perhaps for this reason, yellow-throated martens have a reputation for being easily tamed.
Yellow-Throated Marten Mating, Reproduction and Offspring
Yellow-throated martens are believed to be monogamous (have one mate at a time). Male-male combat for mates has been observed during periods of breeding. They engage in seasonal breeding and, like other martens, are thought to employ delayed implantation (a condition in which a fertilized egg reaches the uterus but delays its implantation in the uterine lining, sometimes for several months) considering their unusually long gestation period relative to most mammals.
Yellow-throated martens breed annually during one of two breeding seasons — either between February and March or between June and August. Their gestation period is between 220 and 290 days. Litters typically contain two or three kits, although litters of four or five have been observed. Parental care is provided by females. Other marten species are weaned at six to eight weeks and continue to receive maternal care for three to four months, when they become independent.
Pen-Tailed Treeshrews
Pen-tailed treeshrews (Ptilocercus lowii) are found in peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand, Sumatra, northern Borneo and nearby small islands in primary rainforests, secondary forests, rubber farms, and in houses near forest edges. They are often associated with the palm tree Eugeissona tristis. They are usually caught 1.5 to two meters off the ground on vines and branches. Nests have been reported in large branches and tree trunks 12 to 20 meters above the ground. Specimens have been collected at altitudes from sea level to 2000 meters. Their average lifespan in captivity is 2.7 years. [Source: Sean Askay, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Pen-tailed treeshrews have been placed the taxonomic family Ptilocercidae. They are the only living species in the genus Ptilocercus. All other treeshrew species are grouped in the family Tupaiidae, where they had been placed. The phylogenetic placement of pen-tailed treeshrews in the family Tupaiidae had long been controversial. The Ptilocercidae family exists 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 (tupaiids) are considered very close relatives of primates, with the colugos being closer to primates. In the past, they were placed in the Order Insectivora or in the Order Primates. Most modern classifications place the treeshrews in their own order, the Scandentia, part of the larger Archontan clade along with Primates, Chiroptera, and Dermoptera. Ptilocercus is the sole member of the subfamily Ptilocercinae. [Source: /=\, Wikipedia]
Pen-tailed treeshrews are omnivores (eat a variety of things, including plants and animals). They have been observed eating grapes, bananas, grasshoppers and crickets. One study of their stomach contents found cockroaches, beetles, black ants, earwigs, cicadas, leaf insects, and even a young forest gecko
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List classifies them as a species of “Least Concern”. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix II, which lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction now but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. The biggest threat to these animals comes from habitat loss mainly resulting from plantation agriculture and slash-and-burn clearing of tropical forests for farming.
Pen-Tailed Treeshrew Characteristics, Behavior and Reproduction
Pen-tailed treeshrews have a gray to light brown back, with a white–yellowish belly. They range in weight from 40 to 62 grams (1.41 to 2.19 ounces). Their usual head and body length of 13 to 14 centimeters (5.1 to 5.5 inches, with tail length of 16 to 19 centimeters (6.3 to 7.5 inches). Their average basal metabolic rate is 0.24 watts. Pen-tailed treeshrews are easily recognized by the plume like hairs on the latter two-fifths of their tail. This "pen tail" is black near the the body and fades to white towards the of the tail. Some have a black eye mask. [Source:Sean Askay, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]
Pen-tailed treeshrews are nocturnal (active at night) and motile (move around as opposed to being stationary). They sense using touch and chemicals usually detected with smell and construct nests inside trees, lined with dried leaves, twigs, fibers of soft woods and are about 7.5 centimeters (three inches) in diameter and 46 centimeters (18 inches) long. /=\
Sean Askay wrote in Animal Diversity Web: Quite lethargic during the day, they will often confront a human disturbance by turning on their back exposing the belly, hissing loudly and gaping widely, often urinating and defecating. This is quite different from a disturbance at night, when the now energetic animal will quickly run away from its disturber. Communal nesting is suspected as individuals in nature are often found in nests in groups of 2-5. This behavior has also been noticed in captives, where individuals will sleep together after a period of contact . A study done on Pen-tailed treeshrews by Whittow and Gould (1976) showed that both oxygen consumption and body temperature dropped significantly during the day while sleeping. This drop in metabolic rate may be associated with energy conservation, and possibly the communal nesting found in the wild and captivity. Like other tupaiids, Pen-tailed treeshrews can walk on the underside of branches . Their tails are extremely sensitive to the touch, and are frequently used in displays like "tail wagging" (a pendulum-like motion) after aggressive encounters, or are held up straight showing excitement . /=\
Very little life history work has been done on Pen-tailed treeshrews, as it is rare and difficult to capture. However, they have two pairs of nipples, suggesting litter sizes of one to four offspring. Threeshrews typically have a gestation periods of 45-55 days resulting in the birth of babies weighing about 10 grams. Three genera of tupaiids (Tupaia, Urogale, Lyonogale) have very unusual mother-offspring relationships. After birth the female will nurse the young, who take on about 50 percent of their initial body weight (5 grams) in milk. The stuffed babies are then left alone, the mother returning only every 48 hours to perform the same mass feeding session. This milk is unusually high in fat content (~26 percent) which allows the young to maintain high body temperatures (37 C) without the aid of their mother's warmth. The milk is also high in protein (10 percent) and the babies are ready to leave the nest in only four weeks. The mother also leaves a scent at the nest that deters the father or other members of their own species from entering. This avoidance behavior is so strong that food items sprayed with the scent are not touched by other individuals. Because captive breeding has not been done with Ptilocercus, whether this strange parenting method characterizes the Pentail Treeshrew is unknown. /=\
“Heavy Drinking” Malaysian Rain Forest Treeshrew
Henry Fountain wrote in the New York Times, “German scientists have discovered that seven species of small mammals in the rain forests of western Malaysia drink fermented palm nectar on a regular basis. For several of the species, including the pen-tailed treeshrew, the nectar, which can have an alcohol content approaching that of beer, is the major food source — meaning they are chronic drinkers. Frank Wiens and Annette Zitzmann of the University of Bayreuth were separately studying two of the species, including their eating habits. They discovered that the nectar of the bertam palm becomes fermented by yeast carried on the flower buds. [Source: Henry Fountain, New York Times, July 29, 2008]
pen-tailed treeshrew
“The pen-tailed treeshrew, in particular, takes advantage of it. By watching the animal and analyzing fur samples, the researchers estimated that the treeshrews consumed enough alcohol that they had about a 36 percent chance of being intoxicated (by human standards). But the researchers never saw any signs of inebriation, and from an evolutionary standpoint, it makes no sense to be drunk anyway. With predators all around, Dr. Wiens said, “it’s just too risky for an animal.”
“The findings, reported in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that the treeshrews and other animals have some efficient means of metabolizing the alcohol. The findings also suggest there must be benefits to having chronic low levels of alcohol in the bloodstream — otherwise the behavior would not have evolved. Those benefits may be psychological, Dr. Wiens said, perhaps enabling the animals to cope with stress of some sort. Further studies to determine the benefits may help in understanding humans’ relationship to alcohol, he said. And since treeshrews are similar to species that were precursors of primates more than 50 million years ago, studying their alcohol use might also provide some evolutionary background for human drinking, he added.
The BBC reported: “The tiny treeshrew that lives on alcoholic nectar could — pound for pound — drink the average human under the table. Pen-tailed treeshrew waits until nightfall to binge on fermented nectar from the bertam palm. The animal could give insights into how humans' alcohol tolerance first evolved, the scientists say. Despite the shrews' small size, they are no lightweights when it comes to their alcohol intake. Nectar from the flower buds of the bertam palm is fermented to a maximum alcohol content of up to 3.8 percent. Each bud is a miniature brewery, containing a yeast community that turns the nectar into a frothy beer-like beverage. Yet the animals, which are about the size of a small rat, do not seem to get drunk at all, researchers say. [Source: BBC, July 29, 2008 \~]
Wiens and colleagues confirmed the animals' high alcohol consumption by analysing their hair. Chemicals in the hair samples showed that on any given night, a treeshrew had a 36 percent chance of being drunk by human standards. The shrew's resistance to intoxication suggests its body must have an effective mechanism for breaking down alcohol. This should not come as too much of a surprise: scientists believe the animals - which are distant relatives of humans - have had 55 million years of evolution to adapt to their boozy lifestyle. The researchers used radio tags to track the creatures on their crawls and recorded video of their feeding sessions. \~\
“Humans may even preserve a relic of the shrews' love of alcohol that has lasted through millions of years of evolution. In their PNAS paper, the scientists wrote that the pen-tailed treeshrew is "a living model for extinct mammals, representing the stock from all extinct and living treeshrews and primates radiated". They added: "Therefore, we hypothesise that moderate to high alcohol intake was present early on in the evolution of these closely related lineages." The researchers also filmed a primate known as a slow loris feeding from the bertam palm. The palm produces nectar year-round on a complex schedule that appears to maximize pollination by small mammals.\~\
Five New Soft-Furred Hedgehog Species Discovered in Southeast Asia
In December 2023, scientists announced that had discovered five new species of soft-furred hedgehogs in South East Asia. The BBC reported: The revelation required several scientific missions to the animals' tropical forest home to study them. Researchers also re-evaluated specimens of the mammals which had been in museum collections for decades. This detailed, biological spot-the-difference study revealed that two of the animals in the museums were new species to science.Three others — that had been categorised as subtypes of one species — were confirmed to be sufficiently distinct from each other to be formally recognised as individual species. The discovery is published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.[Source: Victoria Gill, BBC, December 22, 2023]
The animals belong to a group of hedgehogs called Hylomys, all of which live in South East Asia. There were previously only two known species, and this discovery brings the tally to seven. They are small, long-nosed mammals and, while they are members of the same family as the more familiar hedgehog, are furry rather than spiny. To the non-expert eye, the diminutive mammals look alike, but the team found key differences in their genetic codes, and differences in their physical shape — particularly their heads and teeth. "Their skulls are really cool — they're tiny, but they have these really sharp teeth," Dr Melissa Hawkins, from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (SMNH), told the BBC. "If they were bigger animals they'd be pretty scary."
"Small brown things" are not easy to find in the tropical rainforests they inhabit Each different Hylomys species appears to live in a slightly different habitat — some in the lowland forests and some at higher altitudes. As well as studying the animals in the wild, the researchers examined specimens from a total of 14 different natural history collections across Asia, Europe and the US. The two newly discovered species — Hylomys vorax and Hylomys macarong — were discovered in the collections of the Smithsonian and Drexel University in Philadelphia, where they had remained in drawers for several decades. The scientists named one particularly long-fanged species — that they discovered in one of the museum collections — Hylomys macarong, a name derived from the Vietnamese word for "vampire". Hylomys vorax specimen — before it was identified as a new species of soft-furred hedgehog — collected by Fred Ulmer April 12, 1939, during the George Vanderbilt Sumatra Expedition in Blangbeke, Leuser National Park, Aceh, Sumatra.
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Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.
Last updated January 2025