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The
Scandentia order is composed of 1 family, 5 Recent genera
and 16 species. Classification of Scandentia has fluctuated
between including them with Insectivora to placing them
in the infraorder Lemuriformes. The latter classification
stems from physical characteristics shared with Primates
such as large brain cases, bony encirclement of eye
sockets, the presence of scrotums in males, and the
similarity of carotid and subclavian arteries to humans.
Scandentia
is distributed from India and Southwestern China east
through the Malay Peninsula in Asia to the islands of
Borneo and the Philippines. The majority of species
are found on Borneo which may have been the location
of origination from which the order radiated outward.
The fossil history has been confusing because some specimens
have been difficult to conclusively identify. In their
current range they go back to Paleocene. However, they
are believed to go back to Paleocene and Eocene in North
America, the middle Miocene in Pakistan and the Paleocene
in Europe.
The
Scandentia order resembles squirrels in their overall
appearance. Members of this order can be identified
by a membranous earflap that varies in size by species.
Scandentia is mostly terrestrial but some species are
aboreal. Regardless, they all forage for food on the
ground, feeding on fruits, seeds and plant matter. Larger
species also include a diet of vertebrates such as small
mammals and lizards.
The
care of young in Scandentia is unusual in that the female
raises her helpless young in a nest separate from her
own. She only enters the nest for five to ten minutes
at a time to nurse at a frequency of about once each
48 hours.
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