Morphological distinctiveness of Javan Tupaia hypochrysa (Scandentia, Tupaiidae)

The common treeshrew, Tupaia glis, represents a species complex with a complicated taxonomic history. It is distributed mostly south of the Isthmus of Kra on the Malay Peninsula and surrounding islands. In our recent revision of a portion of this species complex, we did not fully assess the population from Java (T. “glis” hypochrysa) because of our limited sample. Herein, we revisit this taxon using multivariate analyses in comparisons with T. glis, T. chrysogaster of the Mentawai Islands, and T. ferruginea from Sumatra. Analyses of both the manus and skull of Javan T. “glis” hypochrysa show it to be most similar to T. chrysogaster and distinct from both T. glis and T. ferruginea. Yet, the Javan population and T. chrysogaster have different mammae counts, supporting recognition of T. hypochrysa as a distinct species. The change in taxonomic status of T. hypochrysa has conservation implications for both T. glis and this Javan endemic.