The golden-bellied tree shrew occurs on Indonesia's Mentawai Islands. Current taxonomy includes the Siberut population once named separately as siberu.
The North Pagi Island type specimen described in 1903 had a back grizzled black and dull ferruginous, with brownish-yellow fur on the belly and inner legs.
A study comparing Mentawai forest fauna lists it as the diurnal treeshrew in that local community.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.