tree shrew

noun

: any of a family (Tupaiidae of the order Scandentia) of small southeast Asian mammals that resemble squirrels, are of semiarboreal or terrestrial habit, feed chiefly on insects and fruit, and are sometimes classified as true insectivores or primitive primates

Illustration of tree shrew

Examples of tree shrew in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The team says, however, that part of their next steps will be to develop mobile goggles that can ride along on the heads of larger rodents like rats or tree shrews. —Michael Franco, New Atlas, 29 Dec. 2024

But evolution is also the culprit for the tree shrew's remarkable insensitivity to capsaicin. —Amiah Taylor, Discover Magazine, 13 Nov. 2024

Fruit flies, tree shrews and many other animals naturally consume alcohol in fruits that ferment; this happens when yeast or certain bacteria are around to break down sugars in ripe fruit, creating small amounts of ethanol. —Rachel Berkowitz, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2024

So, evolutionary forces pressured the plant to tweak its design a bit to entice the tree shrew to pay it a visit and poop into it. —Smriti Rao, Discover Magazine, 12 Mar. 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above