Tarsiiformes is an infraorder of small primates. It contains a single extant family, Tarsiidae, and members of this infraorder are called tarsiiformes, with members of the family named tarsiers. Tarsiiformes is one of the six major groups in the order Primates. They are found in Maritime Southeast Asia, primarily in forests, though some species can also be found in caves or wetlands. They range in size from the pygmy tarsier, at 8 cm (3 in) plus a 20 cm (8 in) tail, to the Philippine tarsier, at 16 cm (6 in) plus a 25 cm (10 in) tail. Tarsiers are carnivorous and primarily eat insects, though they also consume small vertebrates such as lizards, birds, or bats. The only tarsier with a population estimate is Niemitz's tarsier, estimated at 10,000 to 20,000 mature individuals, but it, along with the Peleng tarsier, pygmy tarsier, and Sangihe tarsier, is categorized as endangered species, while the Siau Island tarsier is classified as critically endangered.

Brown tarsier
Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrichta)

The fourteen extant species of Tarsiiformes are divided into three genera: Carlito and Cephalopachus, each with a single species, and Tarsius, containing the other twelve. A few extinct prehistoric Tarsiiformes species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.[1]

Conventions

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IUCN Red List categories
Conservation status
 EX Extinct (0 species)
 EW Extinct in the wild (0 species)
 CR Critically Endangered (1 species)
 EN Endangered (4 species)
 VU Vulnerable (7 species)
 NT Near threatened (1 species)
 LC Least concern (0 species)
Other categories
 DD Data deficient (1 species)
 NE Not evaluated (0 species)

Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the tarsier's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted.

Classification

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The infraorder Tarsiiformes consists of one extant family: Tarsiidae, containing fourteen species divided between three genera. Carlito and Cephalopachus each have a single species, and Tarsius contains the other twelve.

Family Tarsiidae

  • Genus Carlito (Philippine tarsier): one species
  • Genus Cephalopachus (Horsfield's tarsier): one species
  • Genus Tarsius (tarsiers): twelve species

Tarsiiformes

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The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists.[2]

Family Tarsiidae

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Genus Carlito Groves & Shekelle, 2010 – one species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Philippine tarsier

 

C. syrichta
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Southeastern Philippines
 
Size: 8–16 cm (3–6 in) long, plus about 25 cm (10 in) tail[3]

Habitat: Forest[4]

Diet: Insects, spiders, lizards, and other small vertebrates[3]
 NT 


Unknown  [4]

Genus Cephalopachus Swainson, 1835 – one species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Horsfield's tarsier

 

T. bancanus
(Horsfield, 1821)

Three subspecies
  • T. b. bancanus
  • T. b. borneanus
  • T. b. saltator
Western Philippines
 
Size: 11–15 cm (4–6 in) long, plus 20–24 cm (8–9 in) tail[5]

Habitat: Forest[6]

Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates including birds, mammals, and reptiles[7]
 VU 


Unknown  [6]

Genus Tarsius Storr, 1780 – twelve species
Common name Scientific name and subspecies Range Size and ecology IUCN status and estimated population
Dian's tarsier


T. dentatus
Miller & Hollister, 1921
Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
 
Size: 11–12 cm (4–5 in) long, plus 13–28 cm (5–11 in) tail[8][9]

Habitat: Forest[10]

Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates[8]
 VU 


Unknown  [10]

Gursky's spectral tarsier

 

T. spectrumgurskyae
Shekelle, Groves, Maryanto & Mittermeier, 2017
Northeastern Sulawesi (in purple)
 
Size: About 14 cm (6 in) long, plus 21–27 cm (8–11 in) tail[11]

Habitat: Forest[12]

Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates[12]
 VU 


Unknown  [12]

Jatna's tarsier


T. supriatnai
Shekelle, Groves, Maryanto & Mittermeier, 2017
Northern Sulawesi (in gray)
 
Size: About 14 cm (6 in) long, plus 23–25 cm (9–10 in) tail[11]

Habitat: Forest[13]

Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates[13]
 VU 


Unknown  [13]

Lariang tarsier


T. lariang
Groves & Merker, 2006
Central Sulawesi
 
Size: About 12 cm (5 in) long, plus 12–21 cm (5–8 in) tail[14]

Habitat: Forest[15]

Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates[15]
 DD 


Unknown  [15]

Makassar tarsier

 

T. fuscus
Fischer von Waldheim, 1804
Southern Sulawesi (in yellow)
 
Size: 12–13 cm (5 in) long, plus 24–26 cm (9–10 in) tail[16]

Habitat: Forest and caves[17]

Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates[16]
 VU 


Unknown  [17]

Niemitz's tarsier


T. niemitzi
Shekelle, Groves, Maryanto, Mittermeier, Salim & Springer, 2019
Northern Sulawesi (circled in black)
 
Size: About 14 cm (6 in) long, plus 24–26 cm (9–10 in) tail[18]

Habitat: Forest[19]

Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates[19]
 EN 


10,000–20,000  [19]

Peleng tarsier


T. pelengensis
Sody, 1949
Eastern Sulawesi
 
Size: 12–14 cm (5–6 in) long, plus 25–27 cm (10–11 in) tail[20]

Habitat: Forest[21]

Diet: Insects, as well as frogs, lizards, and other small vertebrates[21]
 EN 


Unknown  [21]

Pygmy tarsier


T. pumilus
Miller, Hollister, 1921
Central Sulawesi
 
Size: 8–11 cm (3–4 in) long, plus 20–21 cm (8 in) tail[22][23]

Habitat: Forest[24]

Diet: Arthropods and insects, as well as small vertebrates[22]
 EN 


Unknown  [24]

Sangihe tarsier

 

T. sangirensis
Meyer, 1897
Sangir Island, southeastern Philippines
 
Size: 12–13 cm (5 in) long, plus about 30 cm (12 in) tail[25]

Habitat: Forest and inland wetlands[26]

Diet: Insects, as well as birds, lizards, and other small vertebrates[25]
 EN 


Unknown  [26]

Siau Island tarsier

 

T. tumpara
Shekelle, Groves, Merker & Supriatna, 2008
Siau Island, north of Sulawesi Size: 10–15 cm (4–6 in) long, plus about 20 cm (8 in) tail[27]

Habitat: Forest[28]

Diet: Arthropods, as well as small vertebrates[28]
 CR 


Unknown  [28]

Spectral tarsier

 

T. tarsier
(Erxleben, 1777)
Sulawesi
 
Size: 9–14 cm (4–6 in) long, plus 20–26 cm (8–10 in) tail[29]

Habitat: Forest[30]

Diet: Insects, as well as lizards, bats, and other small vertebrates[29]
 VU 


Unknown  [30]

Wallace's tarsier


T. wallacei
Merker, Driller, Dahruddin, Wirdateti, Sinaga, Perwitasari-Farajallah & Shekelle, 2010
Northern Sulawesi (in orange)
 
Size: 11–13 cm (4–5 in) long, plus 23–27 cm (9–11 in) tail[31]

Habitat: Forest and inland wetlands[32]

Diet: Insects, as well as small vertebrates[31]
 VU 


Unknown  [32]

References

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  1. ^ "Fossilworks: Tarsiiformes". Paleobiology Database. University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  2. ^ Wilson, Reeder, pp. 127-128
  3. ^ a b Kubicek, Carissa (2023). "Tarsius syrichta". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Shekelle, M. (2020). "Carlito syrichta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T21492A17978520. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T21492A17978520.en.
  5. ^ Downey, Kathleen (June 2017). "Horsfield's Tarsier, Cephalopachus bancanus". New England Primate Conservancy. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Shekelle, M.; Yustian, I. (2020). "Cephalopachus bancanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T21488A17976989. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T21488A17976989.en.
  7. ^ McKeighan, Paul (2011). "Tarsius bancanus". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Yang, Liubin (2007). "Tarsius dentatus". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  9. ^ Supriatna, p. 49
  10. ^ a b Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius dentatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T21489A17977790. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T21489A17977790.en.
  11. ^ a b Shekelle, M.; Groves, C. P.; Maryanto, I.; Mittermeier, R. A. (2017). "Two new tarsier species (Tarsiidae, Primates) and the biogeography of Sulawesi, Indonesia". Primate Conservation. 31: 61–69.
  12. ^ a b c Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius spectrumgurskyae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T162336422A162336580. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T162336422A162336580.en.
  13. ^ a b c Shekelle, M. (2022) [errata version of 2020 assessment]. "Tarsius supriatnai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T162336881A220971513. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T162336881A220971513.en.
  14. ^ Supriatna, p. 45
  15. ^ a b c Shekelle, M; Salim, M.; Merker, S. (2020). "Tarsius lariang". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T136319A17978130. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T136319A17978130.en.
  16. ^ a b Supriatna, pp. 40–41
  17. ^ a b Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius fuscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T162369593A162369616. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T162369593A162369616.en.
  18. ^ Shekelle, M.; Groves, C. P.; Maryanto, I/; Mittermeier, R. A.; Salim, A/; Springer, M/ S. (2019). "A new tarsier species from the Togean Islands of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, with references to Wallacea and conservation on Sulawesi". Primate Conservation. 33: 1–9. S2CID 204801433.
  19. ^ a b c Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius niemitzi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T162337005A171341769. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T162337005A171341769.en.
  20. ^ Supriatna, p. 53
  21. ^ a b c Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius pelengensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T21494A17977515. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T21494A17977515.en.
  22. ^ a b Ford, Trevor (2011). "Tarsius pumilus". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  23. ^ Supriatna, pp. 42–43
  24. ^ a b Shekelle, M; Salim, A. (2020). "Tarsius pumilus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T21490A17977980. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T21490A17977980.en.
  25. ^ a b Minich, Miriam (2017). "Tarsius sangirensis". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  26. ^ a b Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius sangirensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T21493A17977351. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T21493A17977351.en.
  27. ^ Downey, Kathleen (March 2019). "Siau Island Tarsier, Tarsius tumpara". New England Primate Conservancy. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  28. ^ a b c Shekelle, M; Salim, A. (2020). "Tarsius tumpara". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T179234A17977202. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T179234A17977202.en.
  29. ^ a b Mogk, Kenzie (2012). "Tarsius tarsier". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  30. ^ a b Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius tarsier". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T162369551A17978304. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T162369551A17978304.en.
  31. ^ a b Supriatna, pp. 47–48
  32. ^ a b Merker, S.; Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius wallacei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T195277A17977659. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T195277A17977659.en.

Sources

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