Scandentia
/skanˈdɛnʃə
/plural noun Zoology
A small order of mammals which comprises the tree shrews.Euarchontoglires is composed of the orders Primates, Rodentia, Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, and pikas), Scandentia (tree shrews), and Dermoptera (flying lemurs)....
- Tree shrews and elephant shrews have also sometimes been placed in this order; now, however, they are now classified separately (orders Scandentia and Macroscelidea, respectively).
- First, the superorder Archonta comprising Chiroptera, Dermoptera (flying lemurs), Primata, and Scandentia (tree shrews) is erroneous.
Origin
Modern Latin (plural), from Latin scandent- 'climbing', from the verb scandere.