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Many different types of animals live primarily in trees, from birds to monkeys and beyond.

Is there a general term that I can use to refer to all of them?

The closest I've been able to come is "arboreal", and I'm not sure that that particular term is appropriate for the broad range of animals encompassed by the casual usage of "tree-dwelling."

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    $\begingroup$ What do you mean by "the casual usage"? Dictionary.com seems to make the meanings rather explicit and clear. An animal that lives in or amongst trees is arboreal. $\endgroup$ – March Ho Jan 6 '16 at 1:19
  • $\begingroup$ Arboreal is indeed the correct term to use. $\endgroup$ – MattDMo Jan 6 '16 at 2:00
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You answered your own question - arboreal.

Another term that is somewhat related is scansorial, describing animals that climb trees. For example, black bears and raccoons are scansorial, though they aren't really arboreal. Conversely, there are probably some arboreal birds that aren't really great climbers; they simply fly or glide between branches.

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  • $\begingroup$ Please could you add some supporting scientific material that reinforces your answer and allows further reading. $\endgroup$ – rg255 Mar 8 '16 at 7:34

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