TARSIERS
TARSIERS
Tarsiers belong to the suborder Haplorrhini, the “dry nosed” primates, along with monkeys and apes. Haplorrhines are considered to be less primitive than the strepsirrhine “wet-nosed” primates. Nonetheless, tarsiers continue to be, somewhat controversially, categorized as prosimians. The tarsier family, Tarsiidae, includes three genera, at least fourteen species, and seven subspecies.
PHILIPPINE TARSIERS
Genus: Carlito
Carlito syrichta
CONSERVATION STATUS: NEAR THREATENED
Philippine tarsiers are native to the southeastern Philippines. While tarsiers once ranged across Europe, northern Africa, Asia, and North America, they all now live in the lush islands of Southeast Asia. Twenty thousand years ago, the Philippine islands—all 7,107 of them—were linked together as larger islands because the…
WESTERN TARSIERS
Genus: Cephalopachus
Cephalopachus bancanus
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
Native to Southeast Asia, the Horsfield’s tarsier is known by many names, including the western tarsier, Bornean tarsier, and tarsier de Bornéo in French. As their names suggest, the Horsfield’s tarsier can be found in Borneo, an island that is divided among Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. They’re found along the north coast and…
EASTERN TARSIERS
Genus: Tarsius
Tarsius fuscus
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
The Makassar tarsier population is restricted to the southwestern peninsula of Sulawesi island, near Makassar city. They prefer dense canopy forests with dark and humid conditions but are also highly adaptable to different forest types with varying food sources. Makassar tarsiers are often seen in gardens. They occupy the lower…
Tarsius pumilus
CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED
The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is home to the pygmy tarsier, also known as the mountain tarsier, the lesser spectral tarsier, or the Sulawesi Mountain Tarsier. Having eluded detection by scientists for about 80 years, pygmy tarsiers were thought to have gone extinct sometime during the early 20th century. Then…
Tarsius sangirensis
CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED
Sangihe tarsiers are named for their native home on the volcanic island of Sangihe (or Sangir), north of Sulawesi, Indonesia. They naturally thrive in tropical forests, but can also be found in plantations, secondary (or younger) forests, scrub habitats with shorter trees, and near villages. To hunt and live, they typically prefer trees up to…
Tarsius tumpara
CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
The tiny volcanic island of Siau, in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province, is home to this tiny, enigmatic primate. Siau Island tarsiers are found nowhere else in the world. (Some scientists speculate that these Critically Endangered primates may also inhabit some of the smaller islands in close proximity to Siau Island…
Tarsius tarsier
CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE
The spectral tarsier lives in Sulawasi, Indonesia. They are endemic to the island, meaning that it is the only place in the world where this species occurs naturally. They can be found across the island in primary and secondary forests, and some agricultural outcrops. Non-forest habitats that they occupy are tickets of grass…