Dendrogale murina
northern smooth-tailed tree shrew

Northern smooth-tailed tree shrews are distributed in eastern India, Southeast Asia, and on some of the Malaysian islands (von Holst, 1990).

Dendrogale murina resides in tropical forests with elevations up to 1500 m above sea level.

Dendrogale murina is the smallest of 19 species in the order Scandentia. The head-body length is 11.5 cm, with a tail length of 4 to 5 cm, weighing in at approximately 35 to 55 g. They are light in color and have facial markings, which are used to distinguish between the other smooth-tailed shrew (Dendrogale melanura), which lacks these facial markings.The upper body is brown/blackish in color, while the underside is lighter. They are short-haired and lack shoulder stripes. The tail is dark and becomes increasingly darker as it nears the tip. This species has relatively small claws (Nowak and Paradiso, 1983).

Dendrogale murina tend to breed when fruiting of local trees and shrubs is at its maximum (Blomstrom, 2001). Their weaning time is about 30 days and they usually give birth to twins. Infant Northern Smooth-tailed Tree Shrews are born weighing 6 to 10 g and are hairless, blind, and totally dependent on the mother. The mother lactates from just two nipples. The mother's milk is very high in fat content. On average a pair of these shrews mate and produce young every 45 days. Dendrogale murina reach sexual maturity after 2 months. Once sexual maturity has reached, the young are forced out of the nest; they live on their own until they find a suitable mate (von Holst, 1990).

In captivity D. murina live 9 to 10 years, but in the wild they can live to a little over 12 years (von Holst, 1990).

Northern smooth-tailed tree shrews are predominantly aboreal.

The diet of northern smooth-tailed tree shrews consists mostly of fruit, arthropods, and small vertebrates. The digestive tracts of D. murina are very simple, which allows them to pass food very fast. This means that they must eat basically all day long to maintain their energy (Eckstrom, 1996).

Not too well known, but D. murina seem to be abundant

(von Holst, 1990).