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Pygmy Tarsier
Pygmy Tarsier
Pygmy Tarsier
Classification
No
They have a small area of occupancy and are known from only two isolated locations –
Mt. Nokilalaki and Mt. Rantemario (scientists have been unable to exhaustively study the
species)
The species is likely undergoing a decline in the quality of habitat from expanding human
settlements.
Habitat loss and degradation
Hunting and fires set by humans
Illegal logging
Transmigration
Local clearance
Some areas of Central Sulawesi near known pygmy tarsier sites are conflict zones, where
factional fighting has seen the dislocation of large human populations that are then
resettled in refugee camps.
THREATS:
Residential & commercial development – housing and urban areas
Human intrusion & disturbance – war, civil unrest, and military exercises
Also called mountain tarsier, the lesser spectral tarsier, or the Sulawesi Mountain
Tarsier.
Believed extinct until rediscoveries in 2000 and 2008
The pygmy tarsier was believed to have become extinct in the early 20th century.
Then, in 2000, Indonesian scientists accidentally killed one while trapping rats.
The first pygmy tarsiers seen alive since the 1920s were found by a research
team led by Dr. Sharon Gursky and Ph.D. student Nanda Grow from Texas A&M
University on Mount Rore Katimbo in Lore Lindu National Park in August 2008.
The two males and single female (a fourth escaped) were captured using nets,
and were radio collared to track their movements. As the first live pygmy tarsiers
seen in 80-plus years, these captures dispelled the belief among some
primatologists that the species was extinct.
Listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN, there is not enough information on their numbers
or the stability therein to determine a status
Can rotate their head 180 degrees
Being acrobatic comes natural to the pygmy tarsier as they can leap over 16 feet in a
single jump!
The Indonesian island of Sulawesi is home to the pygmy tarsier (Tarsius pumilus) endemic
Pygmy tarsiers come from Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. They inhabit montane cloud
forests in the central Sulawesi Mountains at altitudes from 1800 to 2200 m. They
often inhabit the lower canopy among trunks of saplings and the forest floor.
Sulawesi is one of the four Greater Sunda Islands. The world's eleventh-largest
island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of
Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago.
The Greater Sunda Islands (Indonesian and Malay: Kepulauan Sunda Besar) are four
tropical islands situated within Indonesian Archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean. The
islands, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra, are internationally recognized for their
ecological diversity and rich culture.
Tarsius pumilus is among the least known primates in existence. It has only recently
(August 2008) been rediscovered in the wild, captured, radio-collared,
photographed, and filmed. Morphological analysis of museum specimens indicates
adaptations for life in colder, montane cloud forests (Musser and Dagosto 1987).
Moss forests are characteristic of the presumed habitat.
EATING HABITS
Pygmy tarsiers are insectivorous and favor arthropods with heavily keratinized exoskeletons,
such as spiders.
Small vertebrates are also included in the pygmy tarsier meal plan.
Pygmy tarsiers drink by lapping water.
LIFE SPAN
Lifespan for these tiny primates is unknown, although scientists posit it to be between 12
and 20 years.
The pygmy tarsier is about the size of a small mouse. Weighing less than 2 oz (57 g) and
measuring less than 4 in (10 cm) from head to tail, with the tail accounting for most of this
length, pygmy tarsiers are about 75 percent the size of other tarsier species.
Tarsiers get their namesake from the incredibly elongated tarsus bones in their feet. Their
hind legs and feet, combined, are twice as long as their body!
APPEARANCE
This animal’s coat is longer and curlier than that of other tarsiers, perhaps as an
adaptation to its cold damp environment. Its coat is very soft, ranging in color from
buff to grayish brown or dark brown.
Unlike other tarsiers, the pygmy tarsier does not mark territorial boundaries by
means of scent glands. As with all primates, tactile communication between Pygmy
tarsier mothers and offspring, as well as between mates, is important.
These little pygmies are ambush predators. They have even been seen catching prey
in midflight by pouncing on their victims, with the use of their elongated hind limbs
MATING
The pygmy tarsier is monogamous (mates for life). Some groups, however, have
demonstrated polygyny (one male mating with multiple females).
Females are pregnant for around 6 months and give birth to a single infant.
✔ Why do they matter and what makes them important?
As insectivores, these small primates help keep insect populations’ structure within their
environment. Their diet impacts local food webs (interdependent food chains) and they are
prey for diurnal raptors.
Feral cats, small carnivores, owls, large snakes, and large birds of prey all hunt these
diminutive critters.
CONSERVATION ACTIONS:
It is listed on CITES Appendix II. The species is known to occur in at least one protected area
(Lore Lindu National Park), although the form likely receives some protection on Mount
Rantemario (M. Shekelle pers. comm.). Protected in Lore Lindu National Park and somewhat
protected in Mount RanteMario.
References:
Pygmy Tarsier - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio. (n.d.). https://animalia.bio/pygmy-
tarsier
Robinson, S., & Man, C. (2022). The Eyes of the Pygmy Tarsier. Critter Science.
https://critter.science/the-eyes-of-the-pygmy-tarsier/
Scientist, N. (2008, November 19). Real-life 'gremlin' rediscovered in the wild. New Scientist.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16078-real-life-gremlin-rediscovered-in-the-wild/
Shekelle, M. (2015, November 23). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Tarsius pumilus. IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/21490/17977980
PHYLUM CHORDATA
Although not the largest, Chordates are the most diverse phylum in the animal kingdom.
Chordates have bilateral symmetry at some stage of the life cycle
A degree of cephalization
Have a closed circulatory system (the blood is closed at all times within vessels – it does not fill
body cavities).
1. Notochord
The notochord is a rigid structure that lies just in front of the nerve chord.
Support and protects the nerve chord.
In vertebrates, the notochord is present in embryonic development and later develops into the
vertebral column.
Varies greatly among chordates – from simple notochord (figure 2) to human skeleton.
Advantages of endoskeleton
Disadvantages of endoskeletons
Exoskeleton Endoskeleton
Size restricted – if organism is too big the Can support greater weight
weight will be overwhelming
Ex: Largest terrestrial animal with
Ex: Largest terrestrial animal with endoskeleton: African Bush Elephant
exoskeleton: Coconut crab (Birgus latro) (Loxodonta africana)
Higher energy expenditure Lower energy expenditure
Subphylum Cephalochordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Members of subphylum vertebrate are called vertebrates.
During development, the notochord is replaced with segmented series of bones called
vertebrae. The dorsal nerve cord is modified into the spinal cord and brain in vertebrates. The
vertebrae provide flexibility and protection to the spinal cord, which is protected by the neural
arch.
Vertebrate characteristics:
1. Vertebrae made of bone or cartilage that surround and protect the dorsal nerve cord. The
vertebrae form a vertebral column or spine.
2. A cranium or skull to protect the brain.
3. An endoskeleton composed of bone or cartilage.
Major evolutionary advancement – presence of a vertebral column, which protects the nerve
cord
Vertebrates first appear in the fossil record 550 million years ago.
Today there are ~ 60,000 species of vertebrates.
About 55% of vertebrates are fish.