Spectral tarsier
Tarsius tarsier
Nocturnal
Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/berniedup/7911590496/
Arboreal Primate
Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yasa_/8480819047/
Ever Alert
Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjaypk/6062310640/
Description
- Tarsius tarsier-mammal
- gray to buff gray, soft fur large eyes/ears, tail is bare except last 1/3
- 29.5-40 inches long (including tail), F: 102-114 g; M: 118-130
- trills, twitters, duets; because territorial, know others' locations, alarms
- eyes larger than brain, eat insects more than half its size, leaps more than 40x body length
Food Chain
- carnivorous- eat many insects+small: birds, reptiles, non-insect arthropods
- hunts and forages throughout rainforest in groups (uses moonlight; unusual)
- prey are many small terrestrial vertebrates, insects
- predators can be arboreal snakes, civets, monitor lizards, owls, raptors, feral cats
Habitat
- Indonesia, Asia
- rainforests (secondary growth forests)
- hot, humid, but cooler when active (at night)
- most common: complex aerial roots of strangling figs
Adaptation
- hind limbs help it jump enormous distances to avoid predators; ears
- stays in groups to gang up on a threat; sing warning to group members
- eyes- nocturnal vision and grabbing insects; rotate head 180 degrees; ears
- hunt on/near ground, support all members of group; leap far distances accurately to catch flying prey
Critical Information
- rainforests of Indonesia being destroyed like field of matches; global warming
- habitat diminishing; increasing temperatures means less rainfall (rainforest needs rain); pet trade, also hurts humans (disease)
- protected by international treaties, national law; need to improve public awareness (eat crop pests)
Vulnerable (could be Critically Endangered)
Citations
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/berniedup/7911590496/">berniedup</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/yasa_/8480819047/">yasa_</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>