Tupaia sp.
A placeholder entry for a strikingly dark, all-black treeshrew photographed by birding guide Rob Hutchinson in the Meratus Mountains of South Kalimantan on 8 June 2023, at an elevation below 200m. It does not closely match any currently described Tupaia species and may represent an undescribed taxon, though this has not been confirmed. No scientific name has yet been assigned, and it is listed here provisionally as the 'Meratus Black Treeshrew' pending further study.
Observers on iNaturalist have noted its resemblance to the mountain treeshrew (Tupaia montana), but its low-elevation locality argues against that identification. The Meratus Mountains are an isolated range in southeastern Kalimantan, cut off from the rest of Borneo's central highlands, which could explain the presence of a distinct, unrecognised form.
