Makassar tarsier

Makassar tarsier
	Tarsius fuscus with newly born baby in Babul National Park
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Family:	Tarsiidae
Genus:	Tarsius
Species:	T. fuscus
Binomial name
	Tarsius fuscus; G. Fischer, 1804

The Makassar tarsier (Tarsius fuscus), also known locally as Balao Cengke,^[2] is a species of tarsier. Its range is in Indonesia in the southwestern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, near Makassar. At one point the taxon was downgraded to a junior synonym of the spectral tarsier (T. tarsier). However, when that species' range was restricted to the population on a single island near Sulawesi, this nomen was resurrected to contain the remainder of that species.^[3]

Taxonomic confusion

The taxonomy of the tarsiers from Sulawesi has long been confused.^[4] T. fuscus was initially described by Fischer in 1804.^[4] The species was subsequently renamed twice inadvertently, as T. fuscomanus in 1812 by Geoffroy and as T. fischeri in 1846 by Burmeister.^[4] In 1953 William Charles Osman Hill concluded that the type locality of T. spectrum was actually Makassar, although it was stated to have come from Ambon.^[4] As a result, Hill concluded that T. fuscus was a junior synonym of T. spectrum.^[4] T. spectrum was later determined to be a junior synonym of T. tarsier.^[5] In 2010, Groves restricted T. tarsier to just those tarsiers on the island of Selayar, making the name T. fuscus valid once again for the tarsiers near Makassar.^[3]^[6]

Description

The Makassar tarsier has generally reddish-brown fur.^[3] The hair at the end of the tail is black.^[3] It has shorter skull and shorter toothrows than most other tarsiers.^[3] It also has shorter hind feet than other tarsiers.^[3] The tail is shorter relative to body size than most tarsiers, representing 143% to 166% of the body length.^[3]

Natural history

All Tarsius species are nocturnal and arboreal.^[7] Like all Tarsius, T. fuscus is exclusively carnivorous and insectivorous, generally capturing prey by leaping on it.^[7]

References

^ Shekelle, M. (2020). "Tarsius fuscus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T162369593A162369616. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T162369593A162369616.en.
^ "BAB II HEWAN LANGKA TARSIUS" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-04-01.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Groves, C.; Shekelle, M. (2010). "The Genera and Species of Tarsiidae". International Journal of Primatology. 31 (6): 1071–1082. doi:10.1007/s10764-010-9443-1. S2CID 21220811.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Groves, C. (2003). "The Tarsiers of Sulawesi". Tarsiers: past, present, and future. Rutgers University Press. pp. 179–180. ISBN 9780813532363.
^ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 128. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Tarsius fuscus". www.itis.gov. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
^ ^a ^b Schwartz, J.H. (2003). "How Close Are the Similarities between Tarsius and Other Primates". Tarsiers: past, present, and future. Rutgers University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 9780813532363.