Family Tupaiidae (Noun)
Meaning
Tree shrews; in some classifications tree shrews are considered prosimian primates.
Classification
Nouns denoting animals.
Examples
- Family Tupaiidae primarily includes the tree shrews, but some classifications include prosimians and primates.
- Tree shrews, of which there are 20 distinct species, all belong to family Tupaiidae.
- Some researchers categorize family Tupaiidae as the most primitive extant primates and refer to them as prosimians.
- However, other researchers disagree strongly, and argue that family Tupaiidae are not, in fact, prosimian primates.
- Biologists group the tupaids within family Tupaiidae, although the exact classification remains a subject of ongoing debate.