https://www.popsci.com/what-does-brain-size-have-to-do-with-intelligence/
Treeshrew brains are much bigger than ours based on weight of animal -- the article says something like, but if they are smarter than humans they sure keep quiet about it.
That's not very scientific, is it? If they really were smarter than humans, maybe they would indeed keep quiet about it.
But the argument is always rigged so that humans come out on top: whales have huge brains but their brain mass/body mass is much smaller than ours. With Treeshrews it's just the opposite but clearly there is some minimum brain mass to be intelligent.
And maybe whales think that about us. Someday very soon we will be very surprised but we should not be: brains 8 times the mass of our own housing superhuman intelligence -- how could that be?
Hi r/singapore, this week I'd like to cover a mammal that is quite commonly seen, yet is not very well known to the general public: the Common Treeshrew.
Despite their rodent-like appearance, treeshrews are a separate group of mammals that are classified in their own order, Scandentia, and are considered close relatives of primates and colugos. They are found only in tropical South and Southeast Asia, with about 20 species. Only one species, the Common Treeshrew, occurs in Singapore.
Often confused with squirrels, the Common Treeshrew is easily told apart by its long, pointed snout and wide gape. Mostly terrestrial, this species is usually seen foraging in the leaf litter or running along logs and fallen branches, searching for fallen fruits and insects. It can climb trees, although it usually prefers to stay close to the ground.
The Common Treeshrew has a wide distribution across mainland Singapore; it inhabits forests and wooded habitats, and is most easily seen at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Central Catchment Nature Reserve, and the surrounding buffer parks and other green spaces. There are also populations in the Botanic Gardens, Bukit Batok Nature Park, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, and Southern Ridges.
Feel free to ask any questions you might have about the Common Treeshrew, and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability. You can also share your own stories and anecdotes, or suggest other animals for me to cover in future.
Previous edition: Civets
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