Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The limb musculature of the Tupaiidae

  • Published:
Primates Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The limb musculature of the tree shrews,Tupaia glis, Tupaia nicobarica, Lyonogale (Tupaia) tana, andUrogale everetti, is described and compared with published accounts. Although these species show preferences for different forest levels, i.e., arboreal (T. nicobarica), semiarboreal (T. glis), and terrestrial (L. tana, U. everetti) niches, their musculoskeletal contrasts present no consistent patterns attributable to locomotor adaptations. However, a re-examination of the myological evidence bearing on the much discussed question of the relationship of tree shrews to primates suggests that those features shared by these forms are retentions from their basal mammalian heritage, and supports the view that tree shrews possess a primitive rather than a progressive insectivoran limb morphology.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Banks, E., 1931. A popular account of the mammals of Borneo.J. Malayan Branch, Roy. Asiat. Soc., 9 (2): 1–139.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbour, R. A., 1963. The musculature and limb plexuses ofTrichosurus vulpecula.Aust. J. Zool., 11: 488–610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, C. H. &J. R. Napier, 1953. The rotatory mobility of the fibula in eutherian mammals.J. Anat., 87: 11–21.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, M. D., 1945. The phylogeny of the nearctic Sciuridae.Amer. Midl. Nat., 33: 257–390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buettner-Janusch, J., 1963. An introduction to the primates. In:Evolutionary and Genetic Biology of the Primates, Vol. 1,J. Buettner-Janusch (ed.), Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson, A., 1922. Über die Tupaiidae und ihre Beziehungen zu den Insectivora und den Prosimiae.Acta Zool. (Stockholm), 3: 227–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cartmill, M., 1972. Arboreal adaptations and the origin of the order Primates. In:Functional and Evolutionary Biology of Primates,R. H. Tuttle (ed.), Aldine-Atherton, Chicago, pp. 97–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1974a. Pads and claws in arboreal locomotion. In:Primate Locomotion,F. A. Jenkins,Jr. (ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 45–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1974b. Rethinking primate origins.Science, 184: 436–443.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coues, E., 1872. On the osteology and myology ofDidelphys Virginiana.Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 2: 41–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, D. D., 1938. Notes on the anatomy of the treeshrewDendrogale.Field Mus. Publ. Chicago Zool., 20: 383–405.

    Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1962. Mammals of the lowland rain forest of North Borneo.Bull. Nat. Mus. Singapore, 31: 1–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobson, G. F. A., 1882.Monograph of the Insectivora. John Van Vorst, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haines, R. W., 1955. The anatomy of the hand of certain insectivores.Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 125: 761–777.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, W. C. O., 1955,Primates. Comparative Anatomy and Taxonomy. Vol. II. Tarsioidea. University Press, Edinburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howell, A. B., 1937. Morphogenesis of the shoulder architecture: Part IV, Therian mammalia.Quart. Rev. Biol., 12: 440–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———— &W. L. Straus, Jr., 1931. The brachial flexor muscles in primates.Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 80: 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———— & ————, 1961. The muscular system. In:The Anatomy of the Rhesus Monkey,C. G. Hartman &W. L. Straus,Jr. (eds.), Hafner Publishing Co., New York, pp. 89–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, F. A., Jr., 1974. Tree shrew locomotion and the origins of primate arborealism. In:Primate Locomotion,F. A. Jenkins,Jr. (ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 85–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kladetsky, J. &H. Kobold, 1966. Das Teres-minor Problem, der Nervus axillaris und die Hautrumpfmuskulatur beiTupaia glis (Diard 1820).Anat. Anz., 119: 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kloss, C. B., 1911. On a collection of mammals and other vertebrates from the Trengganu Archipelago.J. Fed. Malay States Mus., 4: 175–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Gros Clark, W. E., 1924a. The myology of the tree shrew (Tupaia minor).Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 461–497.

  • ----, 1924b. On the brain of the tree shrew (Tupaia minor).Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 1053–1074.

  • ----, 1925. On the skull ofTupaia. Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 559–567.

  • ----, 1926. On the anatomy of the pen-tailed tree shrew (Ptilocercus Lowii).Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 1179–1309.

  • ----, 1927. Exhibition of photographs of the tree shrew (Tupaia minor).Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 254–256.

  • ----, 1932. The brain of the Insectivora.Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 975–1013.

  • ----, 1936. The problem of the claw in primates.Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 1–24.

  • ————, 1960.The Antecedents of Man. Quadrangle Books, Chicago, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1971.The Antecedents of Man. 3rd ed., Quadrangle Books, Chicago, Illinois.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, O. J., 1962. The comparative morphology of m. flexor accessorius and the associated long flexor tendons.J. Anat., Lond., 96: 321–333.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1964. The tibialis posterior tendon in the primate foot.J. Anat., Lond., 98: 209–218.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luckett, W. P., 1969. Evidence for the phylogenetic relationships of tree shrews (family Tupaiidae) based on the placenta and foetal membranes.J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl., 6: 419–433.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, M. W., 1913. Treeshrews: an account of the mammalian family Tupaiidae.Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 45: 1–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, R. D., 1968a. Reproduction and ontogeny in tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri), with reference to their general behavior and taxonomic relationships.Z. Tierpsychol., 25: 409–532.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1968b. Towards a new definition of primates.Man, 3: 377–401.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, R. A., 1935. Functional adaptations in the forelimb of the sloths.J. Mammal., 16: 38–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mivart, St. G., 1867. Notes on the osteology of the Insectivora.J. Anat. Physiol., 1: 281–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1868. Notes on the osteology of the Insectivora.J. Anat. Physiol., 2: 117–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murie, J. &St. G. Mivart, 1872. On the anatomy of the Lemuroidea.Trans. Zool. Soc. Lond., 7: 1–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Napier, J. R. &P. H. Napier, 1967.A Handbook of Living Primates. Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, C. A., 1951. Locomotion and appendicular anatomy in three Soricoid insectivores.Amer. Midl. Nat., 45: 513–671.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romer, A. S., 1944. The development of tetrapod limb musculature—the shoulder region ofLacerta.J. Morphol., 74: 1–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, A. H., 1969.The Life of Primates. Universe Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, G. G., 1965. Long abandoned views.Science, 147: 1397.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorenson, M. W., 1970. Behavior of tree shrews. In:Primate Behavior: Developments in Field and Laboratory Research,L. A. Rosenblum (ed.), Academic Press, New York, 1: 141–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———— &C. H. Conaway, 1964. Observations of tree shrews in captivity.Sabah Soc. J., 2(1–2): 77–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, W. L., Jr., 1941. The phylogeny of the human forearm extensors.Hum. Biol., 13: 23–50; 202–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • ————, 1942, The homologies of the forearm flexors.Amer. J. Anat., 70: 281–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uhlmann, K., 1968. Hüft-und Oberschenkelmuskulatur. Systematische und vergleichende Anatomie.Primatologia, 4 (10): 1–442.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verma, K., 1965. Notes on the biology and anatomy of the Indian tree-shrew.Anathana wroughtoni. Mammalia, 29: 289–330.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wharton, C. H., 1950. Notes on the Philippine tree shrewUrogale everetti Thomas.J. Mamm., 31: 352–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood Jones, F., 1916.Arboreal Man. Edward Arnold, London.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biological and Medical Sciences, Section of Morphology, Brown University, 02912, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Robert M. George

Authors
  1. Robert M. George
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

About this article

Cite this article

George, R.M. The limb musculature of the Tupaiidae. Primates 18, 1–34 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02382951

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02382951

Keywords

Search

Navigation