Tarsius spectrum

Tarsius spectrum

Other name

Tangkasi (Minahasa) (Supriatna et al. 2000)

Classification

Order: Primates
Infraordo: Tarsiiformes (Gregory 1915)
Family: Tarsiidae (Gray 1825)
Genus: Tarsius (Storr 1780)
Species: Tarsius spectrum

Tangkasi (Tarsius spectrum) is a primate of the genus Tarsius and the family Tarsiidae which is the only surviving family of the order Tarsiiformes. Although this group used to have a wide spread, all living species are now limited in number and are found in parts of Southeast Asian islands.

Characteristics

Tarsius is small with very large eyes, each eyeball is about 16 mm in diameter and the overall size is as big as its brain (Shumaker 2003). The hind legs are also very long. The tarsus bone in his leg is very long and from this tarsus bone the name tarsier originated. The length of the head and body is 10 to 15 cm, but the hind legs are almost twice the length of the body and head. Tarsius has a slim tail 20 to 25 cm long, fingers stretched, with a third finger roughly the same length as the upper arm. At the fingertips there are nails but on the second and third fingers of the hind legs are claws that are used to treat the body. Tarsius hair is generally gray, light brown or light orange (Niemitz 1985).

Tarsiers are generally nocturnal (active at night) and insectivores. Pregnancy lasts for six months, and only one child at each birth.

Conservation

Tangkasi is an animal protected under Law No.5 / 1990 and Government Regulation No.7 / 1999, including the category of vulnerable or Vulnerable (IUCN) and listed in Appendix II (CITES). Its uniqueness makes these animals continue to be hunted to be traded illegally as pets (Wirdateti & Dahrudin, 2006). This of course causes a decrease in tangkasi populations in nature. In addition, a serious threat to the decline of tangkasi populations in nature is illegal logging and forest conversion, which causes the reduction of tangkasi habitat in nature.

Editor : Silvia A. Prabandari
Photo : R. Suryo Saputro

Referensi

Niemitz, C. (1984). Macdonald, D., ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 338–339. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.

Shumaker, Robert W., Benjamin B. Beck (2003). Primates in Question. Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1-58834-151-8.

Supriatna, J., Edy HW (2000). Panduan Lapangan Primata Indonesia. Yayasan Obor Indonesia, Jakarta. ISBN 979-461-355-X.

Wirdateti, H., Dahrudin. 2006. Pengamatan Pakan dan Habitat Tarsius spectrum (Tarsius) di Kawasan Cagar Alam Tangkoko-Batu Angus, Sulawesi Utara.[Jurnal Ilmiah Biodiversitas Volume 7 No.4 hal 373-377]