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Ptilocercus lowii

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA SCANDENTIA PTILOCERCIDAE

Scientific Name: Ptilocercus lowii
Species Authority: Gray, 1848
Common Name/s:
English – Pen-tailed Treeshrew, Pen-tailed Tree Shrew
Taxonomic Notes: This species was assigned to the family Ptilocercidae by Shoshani and McKenna (1998), based on its possession of a number of unique external, craniodental and postcranial characters (Helgen 2005). This placement has recently been corroborated by molecular data (Janecka et al. 2007).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern     ver 3.1
Year Assessed: 2008
Assessor/s Han, K.H. & Stuebing, R.
Evaluator/s: Hoffmann, M. & Chanson, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)
Justification:
This species is listed as Least Concern, since although it is rare and likely to be affected by severe deforestation throughout its lowland forest habitat, it shows some adaptability (occurring, for example, in plantations) and it is unlikely that it has undergone declines sufficient to warrant listing in a threatened category.
History:
1996 – Lower Risk/least concern (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: This species is found in southern Thailand, Malaysia (Malay Peninsula, Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan), Brunei, and Indonesia (Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Riau, Batu, Siberut, Bangka, and Serasan Islands) (Helgen 2005). There are only a few records of this species from northern Sumatra.

This is a lowland species occuring up to 1,200 m (K. H. Han pers. comm.).
Countries:
Native:
Brunei Darussalam; Indonesia; Malaysia; Thailand
Range Map:
(click map to view full version)
41491_v1224017222

Population [top]

Population: The species is probably rare throughout most of its range.
Population Trend: Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: The only nocturnal tree shrew, this species is found largely in primary forest, in areas with lots of vines and undergrowth, which it requires as it comes down to the ground to forage for insects (K. H. Han pers. comm.). However, on Borneo, it has been observed in secondary forests and in gardens (Payne et al. 1998). It does appear to live in family groups, unlike diurnal tree shrews.
Systems: Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): The major threat to this arboreal species is loss of forest-canopy habitat due to agricultural expansion and conversion of land to non-tree crops. It survives in older (>5years) mosaics of natural forest and tree plantations (Han et al. in press; R. Stuebing pers. comm.).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: It occurs in a few protected areas, including Danum Valley (Sabah, Malaysia), Bukit Lambir (Sarawak, Malaysia) and Pasoh Forest Reserve (Peninsular Malaysia), and some nearby offshore islands of Lumut-Sitiawan area, Perak (Peninsular Malaysia). A substantial colony has also been recently discovered (2006) in a forest remnant of an Acacia mangium plantation in the Bintulu Division, Sarawak (Han et al. in press; R. Stuebing pers. comm.).
Citation: Han, K.H. & Stuebing, R. 2008. Ptilocercus lowii. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 08 January 2009.
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