Tupaia glis
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English: Tree shrew
German: Gew”hnliches spitzh”rnchen
French: Toupaia
Spanish: Musarana
Distribution areas
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The tree shrew is a small squirrel-like
animal living in South Asia, mainly in
India, and southern islands.
Description of the fur
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The skin of the tree shrew is from 12 to The cuticular structure
20 cm long, and the tail is nearly the same of the fine fibres, 2000x
length. The fur coat is grey-brown in
colour and, in the back areas, dark-brown in colour. The undercoat layer is
light-grey in the shade. The hair fibres are soft and dense. The guard hairs
are straight, but the fine fibres are moderately curled. The thickness of the
coat is about 13 mm.
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Tupaia glis
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English: Tree shrew
German: Gew”hnliches spitzh”rnchen
French: Toupaia
Spanish: Musarana
Structure of the hair
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The microscopic skin surface is furrowed.
The hair follicles are narrow with straight
edges and the average follicle is single
-haired.
The fine fur fibres have a circular or
an elliptical cross-section. The diameter Longitudinal section
of these fibres is from 8 to 15 µm. The of an intermediate fibre, 2000x
cuticular scales are petal-like with a
finely grooved surface and straight scale margins. The medulla is wide,
unbroken and central symmetrical-shaped. The overall structure of the medulla
is of the uniserial ladder type with either a granular or an amorphous
infilling substance.
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Tupaia glis
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English: Tree shrew
German: Gew”hnliches spitzh”rnchen
French: Toupaia
Spanish: Musarana
The intermediate fibres are elliptical
in the cross-section and the diameter is
between 30 and 60 µm. The cuticle is
covered by comb-like scales with a smooth
surface and straight scale margins. The
medullary column is wide, unbroken and
central symmetrical-shaped in
cross-section. The overall medullary
structure is of the lattice type with a The cuticular structure
granular or an amorphous infilling of an intermediate hair, 600x
substance.
The guard hairs have an elliptical cross-section. The diameter of these
fibres is in the range of 60 to 90 µm. The cuticular scales are even,
tile-like with a smooth surface and straight scale margins. The medulla is
wide, longitudinally unbroken and situated in the central axial part of the
shaft. The overall medullary structure is of the lattice type with a
sheet-like infilling material.
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Tupaia glis
-----------
English: Tree shrew
German: Gew”hnliches spitzh”rnchen
French: Toupaia
Spanish: Musarana
The cuticular structure
of a guard hair, 1000x
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Tupaia glis
-----------
English: Tree shrew
German: Gew”hnliches spitzh”rnchen
French: Toupaia
Spanish: Musarana
Transverse section
of a guard hair, 1000x
Numerical code for tree shrew skin structure
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Surface of the skin: 3-4-1
Fine fur fibres: 1.2-11-2-1-2-1-1-1-6.8-8.15-5.13
Intermediate fibres: 2-6-1-1-2-1-1-8-6.8-30.61-10.15
Guard hairs: 2-2-1-1-2-1-1-8-6.8-60.91-10.18
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