AbstractMicroelectrode multiunit recording methods were used to determine the somatotopic organization of the second somatosensory area, S‐II, in tree shrews. Neurons were activated by light tactile stimuli, and receptive fields were located on the contralateral body surface only. The orientation of S‐II was such that the top of the head adjoined S‐I and the distal limbs pointed away from S‐I so that the representation could be characterized as “erect.” In general, the distortions of the body surface in S‐II were similar to those found in S‐I of the tree shrew (Sur et al., '80), with the exception that proportionately less cortex was devoted to the glabrous nose. The representation in S‐II was more continuous than that in S‐I. Finally, cortex bordering S‐II caudally was found to be responsive to generally more intense somatosensory stimuli such as taps to the body surface.