Tarsier
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 Philippine Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta)
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| Lemur tarsier Erxleben, 1777 |
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Tarsius syrichta |
The tarsiers are the members of the Tarsius genus of prosimian primates, monotypic in the Tarsiidae family and Tarsiiformes infraorder. The entire infraorder was previously classified in the Strepsirhini suborder, but now classified in the Haplorrhini suborder, although they are not considered to be monkeys. Evidence for the position of Tarsier in the primate tree came for example from retrotransposon presence/absence data.
Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name, and most are nocturnal. They are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on birds and snakes. Gestation takes about six months, and tarsiers give birth to single offspring.
Once found in Asia, Europe and North America, tarsiers are now only found on several Southeast Asian islands including the Philippines, Sulawesi, Borneo, and Sumatra.
When caged, some tarsiers have been known to injure and even kill themselves because of the stress [1].
They also have the longest continuous fossil record of any primate, and the fossil record suggests that their dental pattern and shape hasn't changed in 45 million years.
Unlike many nocturnal animals, tarsiers lack a light-reflecting area (tapetum lucidum) of the eye. They also have a fovea, atypical for nocturnal animals.
Tarsiers can catch prey like birds even if they are in motion as the tarsiers jump from tree to tree to catch their prey.[citation needed]
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[edit] Classification
- Infraorder Tarsiiformes[2]
- Family Tarsiidae: tarsiers
- Genus Tarsius
- T. syrichta group
- Philippine Tarsier, Tarsius syrichta
- Western or Horsfield's Tarsier, Tarsius bancanus
- T. tarsier group
- Spectral Tarsier, Tarsius tarsier
- Dian's Tarsier, Tarsius dentatus
- Lariang Tarsier, Tarsius lariang
- Peleng Tarsier, Tarsius pelengensis
- Sangihe Tarsier, Tarsius sangirensis
- Pygmy Tarsier, Tarsius pumilus
- T. syrichta group
- Genus Tarsius
- Family Tarsiidae: tarsiers
[edit] Conservation status
One tarsier species, Dian's Tarsier (Tarsius dentatus), is listed by on the IUCN Red List as being "lower Risk - Conservation Dependent". Two other species/sub-species, Horsfield's Tarsier (Tarsius bancanus), Tarsius bancanus bancanus, are listed as "Lower Risk - Least Concern". The Spectral Tarsier (Tarsius spectrum) is categorized as "Lower Risk, Not Threatened." All other tarsier species are listed as "Data Deficient".
[edit] Gallery
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 Tarsier in Bohol, Philippines. |
 Spectral Tarsier |
 Philippine Tarsier |
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[edit] External links
- Primate Info Net - Primate Factsheets & More: Tarsius sp.
- Video of a Tarsier
- A Synopsis of the Mammalian Fauna of the Philippine Islands
- Tarsier behaviour: index to species
- Descriptive Article of the Philippine Tarsier
[edit] References
- ^ [1]
- ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 127-128. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- General references
- Schmitz J, Ohme M, Zischler H (2001) SINE insertions in cladistic analyses and the phylogenetic affiliations of Tarsius bancanus to other primates. Genetics 157(2): 777-84. [2]
| Extant primate families by suborder |
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| Strepsirrhini: Cheirogaleidae · Lemuridae · Lepilemuridae · Indriidae · Daubentoniidae · Lorisidae · Galagidae
Haplorrhini: Tarsiidae · Cebidae · Aotidae · Pitheciidae · Atelidae · Cercopithecidae · Hylobatidae · Hominidae |
