Pop Up: Tarsius
Sulawesi forest contains perhaps the largest kingdom of Tarsius (an elongated tarsus bone), the smallest primate in the world. Its short body and round head are covered with a soft, velvety coat which is gray to gray-buff in color. Its tail is long, slender and covered in scales like those which are found on the tails of rats and mice. Its head-body length is 9.5-11 cm and its tail about 20-26 cm long. The tail of this species is naked except for the last half to third, which has long hair, and at the end there is a tuft of hair.
Their owl-like eyes, mobile ears, haunting songs, two grooming claws on each foot and nocturnal habits reinforce the tarsier's image as gremlins. These gremlins of the forest are found throughout Asia. But T. dianae, T. spectrum, T. pelengensis, T. pumilus, and T. sangirensis are found only in Sulawesi.
This tiny Mammalian lacks a tapetum lucidum in its eyes, just like other nocturnal animals. And it has a special adaptation in his neck vertebrae that helps to turn his head 180 degrees to overcome its inability of eye movements. With its relatively small upper canine, it has a dental formula of 2:1:3:3 on the upper jaw and 1:1:3:3 on the lower jaw.
Tarsius spectrum is crepuscular (active in the twilight) and nocturnal. It is famous for its leaping and cross gaps abilities of up to 6 m (20 ft).
The basic group of Tarsius is made up of the mated pair and their offspring. However they sleep in groups and also found in polygynous groups. In polygynous groups all adult females of the group give birth. Pairs are territorial, chasing other co-specifics out of their home range. Females will stay in their groups until they are adults, while males will emigrate when they are still juveniles. Infants stay in the tree until they are ready to come out, which is usually between the ages of 3 to 6 weeks.
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Their owl-like eyes, mobile ears, haunting songs, two grooming claws on each foot and nocturnal habits reinforce the tarsier's image as gremlins. These gremlins of the forest are found throughout Asia. But T. dianae, T. spectrum, T. pelengensis, T. pumilus, and T. sangirensis are found only in Sulawesi.
This tiny Mammalian lacks a tapetum lucidum in its eyes, just like other nocturnal animals. And it has a special adaptation in his neck vertebrae that helps to turn his head 180 degrees to overcome its inability of eye movements. With its relatively small upper canine, it has a dental formula of 2:1:3:3 on the upper jaw and 1:1:3:3 on the lower jaw.
Tarsius spectrum is crepuscular (active in the twilight) and nocturnal. It is famous for its leaping and cross gaps abilities of up to 6 m (20 ft).
The basic group of Tarsius is made up of the mated pair and their offspring. However they sleep in groups and also found in polygynous groups. In polygynous groups all adult females of the group give birth. Pairs are territorial, chasing other co-specifics out of their home range. Females will stay in their groups until they are adults, while males will emigrate when they are still juveniles. Infants stay in the tree until they are ready to come out, which is usually between the ages of 3 to 6 weeks.
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on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 at 4:32 AM.
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