The Family Tupaiidae comprises the treeshrews, small, squirrel-like mammals found primarily in Southeast Asia. Treeshrews have slender bodies, long tails, and sharp teeth, and they are highly arboreal and agile, feeding on insects, fruits, and small vertebrates. Once thought to be closely related to primates, molecular studies place them in their own distinct order, Scandentia, though they share some behavioral and neurological traits with early primates. Tupaiidae species are mostly diurnal, have keen senses, and play important roles in forest ecosystems as seed dispersers and insect predators.