So named for the bold, black dorsal stripe extending from the base of their neck to the top of their tail, very little is known about the species, prompting its listing as data deficient by the IUCN Red List. Like other treeshrews, a family that closely resemble tree squirrels and possessing the largest brains relative to body size of any mammal, it is active in the day, time it spends foraging for insects. In the absence of other research, scientists must turn to museum specimens to try and decipher anything more of the habits and behaviour of the striped treeshew.

The discovery was made by a team of researchers working in the Maliau Basin Conservation Area following the first comprehensive live-trapping of small mammals in the reserve. Lead scientist of the team, PhD student Oliver Wearn said “we had suspicions that the species was in the area following a few tantalising glimpses on camera traps. However, small mammals are difficult to identify from images alone, so confirmation in the hand was needed.”

Increasingly, camera-trapping and other remote methods are being employed to survey the uncommon and mysterious taxa that tread the wild corners of our planet – for example, the same team recently documented sightings of the enigmatic bay cat, a felid that is equally unfamiliar. Nevertheless, for smaller species such as the Striped Treeshrew, the traditional trapping methods still hold sway.

The individual was found in the trap and later examined by researcher Jack Thorley, who noted “following its capture, it was clear that we could rule out two superficially similar species that coexist in the region. It was an extremely exciting find and a wonderful creature to hold in the hand. It marked the culmination of much toil lugging traps around steep, muddy slopes on unsteady footing for many weeks, so it was welcome reward.”

With its warm, tropical climate, Borneo lies at the epicentre of the palm oil revolution, threatening the flora and fauna for which it is fabled. The mammal trapping which uncovered the Striped Treeshrew is just one facet of a much larger scientific undertaking, the SAFE Project, tasked with investigating the ramifications of this process of forest fragmentation and land conversion on biodiversity. With this in mind, the capture of this rare and elusive species acts as a prescient reminder of the vast and still largely unexplored riches hidden in Borneo’s forests.