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Name : Tufted terra firma squirrel ( Rheithrosciurus macrotis )
Where it subsist : On the ground and low branch of hilly forests in Borneo
Tufted ground squirrels (Rheithrosciurus macrotis) have one of the most voluminous tails relative to body size among all mammals.
What it eat : Extremely hard seeds from a fistful of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree species
Why it ’s awing : Rumor has it that tufted ground squirrel , nickname " vampire " squirrels in a 2014 Sciencearticle , stick out down from low offshoot onto the backs of deer and kill them by gash the jugular vena with their razor - sharp teeth .
Local Dayak huntersreport findingdisemboweled deer carcase and suspect the squirrels feast on their prey ’s abdomen capacity , heart and liver . In villages close to the timberland edge , tufted ground squirrels are also say to kill domestic chickens to feed their hearts and livers .
But in 2020 , investigator discovered these squirrel are not bloodthirsty meat - eaters . or else , their weird teeth — which include bombastic incisor on both the upper and lower jaws that have deep carved ridges like a saw — are used to eatextremely voiceless seed . " We ’re talk seeds so hard that a strong human being with a power hammer would have to work passably hard to get into one , " lead author Andrew Marshall , a biological anthropologist at the University of Michigan , told IFLscience at the metre .
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Tufted flat coat squirrel also have spectacular , club - shaped tails that are 30 % larger than their soundbox — one of the most voluminous tail end among all mammal , proportional to consistence size . scientist are unsure why the squirrel sport such an exuberant appendage , but it ’s possible their tails protect them against predator , such as Sundaclouded leopards(Neofelis diardi ) , by befog their small bodies and confusing likely sea wolf .
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How these squirrel ended up in Borneo is a mystery . Researchshows their closest living relatives are a group of South American squirrels — but there is no sign of any other relation in either Asia or North America that could help oneself scientists trace their journeying to Southeast Asia .
A 2012studysuggests theRheithrosciuruslineage diverged from a group of Palearctic species some 36 million age ago and colonized Borneo overland from Southeast Asia — but the tufted earth squirrel ’s evolutionary story remains cloudy . ( Palearctic refers to a region comprising Eurasia north of the Himalayas , northerly Africa and the temperate parts of the Arabian peninsula . )
