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The animal on the cover of Python for Data Analysis is a golden-tailed, or pen-tailed, tree shrew (Ptilocercus lowii). The golden-tailed tree shrew is the only one of its species in the genus Ptilocercus and family Ptilocercidae; all the other tree shrews are of the family Tupaiidae. Tree shrews are identified by their long tails and soft red-brown fur. As nicknamed, the golden-tailed tree shrew has a tail that resembles the feather on a quill pen. Tree shrews are omnivores, feeding primarily on insects, fruit, seeds, and small vertebrates.

Found predominantly in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, these wild mammals are known for their chronic consumption of alcohol. Malaysian tree shrews were found to spend several hours consuming the naturally fermented nectar of the bertam palm, equalling about 10 to 12 glasses of wine with 3.8% alcohol content. Despite this, no golden-tailed tree shrew has ever been intoxicated, thanks largely to their impressive ethanol breakdown, which includes metabolizing the alcohol in a way not used by humans. Also more impressive than any of their mammal counterparts, including humans? Brain to body mass ratio.

Despite these mammals’ name, the golden-tailed shrew is not a true shrew, instead more closely related to primates. Because of their close relation, tree shrews have become an alternative to primates in medical experimentation for myopia, psychosocial stress, and hepatitis.

The cover image is from Cassel’s Natural History. The cover font ...

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