Tarsiers - The Big-eyed Nocturnal Mammal
Tarsier
Oh the tarsier is an extraordinary animal. Relative to weight, the tarsier has the largest eyes of all the mammals.
Tarsiers are currently living only on some of the islands of Southeast Asia - the south of the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra and some of the other Indonesian islands. They have not survived well in captivity or as pets.
Western Tarsier
The tarsiers, unlike any other primates, completely refuse to eat any plant matter whatsoever. They eat mostly insects but sometimes enjoy birds, crabs, snakes, bats, etc, as long as it is something they can grab and eat its little head, crickets and grasshoppers for example. They may be eaten themselves by snakes, lizards, owls, and other birds of prey. Being nocturnal helps them avoid some predators in the dark night. If a tarsier is attacked by a predator, all of the tarsiers nearby may swarm and attack the predator
Video of Amazing Large Eyes
Tarsiers do like to sing with a high-pitch voice and in some species the males and females perform duets together. Different species of tarsier have different songs and singing styles and that is one way scientists can differentiate between the species.
The tarsier's flexible neck allows its head to swivel around 180 degrees to help it scan for prey or predator. This is necessary as their eyeballs do not rotate. The ears are usually moving around when the animal is awake. They can flatten and roll their ears back and unfurl them again.
See those legs? The tarsier is an amazing jumper able to jump more than 40 times it's own body length. The hind legs can be twice the head and body length. In fact, their name comes from their powerful ankle bones - the tarsals. They like to jump and cling to trees.
Philippine Tarsier
The tarsier has such large eyes because it is a nocturnal hunter and the large eyes help maximize the available light. Their pupils dilate to adjust when little light is available and shrink to tiny pinholes when more light is present. They must not like it when someone takes their picture using a bright flash.
Spectral Tarsier
The tarsier's fur is grey, gold, ochre, sand-colored or a mix of these colors and very soft. They have long hairless tails and long padded fingers well adapted for arboreal life with anti-skid treads.
Here is a close-up of the pads on their fingers. Look at those things! Photo Source - Francis Ritualo
Dian's tarsier
The fossils of these animals extend back as long as any other primate. Their range was once much more extensive and fossils are found in parts of Europe, North America, other parts of Asia, and perhaps in Africa. Now they are limited to islands in Southeast Asia.
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