A New Genus of Treeshrew from Ramnagar in Jammu and Kashmir

Context: New genus of treeshrew from Ramnagar in Jammu and Kashmir can provide a precise age estimate for the locality.

Scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have found fossils of a small mammal resembling squirrels called treeshrew belonging to a new genus and species from Ramnagar in Jammu and Kashmir. 

This treeshrew currently represents the oldest record of fossil tupaiids in the Siwaliks, extending their time range by 2.5–4.0 Million Years in the region and can help provide a more precise age estimate for this Ramnagar locality lying in the Udhampur District (UT-Jammu & Kashmir).

Treeshrews are very rare elements of the fossil record, with only a few species known throughout the entire Cenozoic era.