Spectral Tarsier

Spectral Tarsier (Tarsius spectrum) is one of the primate species of the suborder Tarsiodea, family Tarsiidae, genus Tarsius. Their habitat and distribution are in the forest of North Sulawesi down to South Sulawesi. They can also be found on the islands surrounding Sulawesi such as Suwu, Selayar and Peleng. Tarsier is also found in the Philippines. At the Bantimurung National Park, Bulusaraung, South Sulawesi, it is known by the local people as “balao cengke” (the clove balao) or “tikus jongkok” (the hunkering mouse). As nocturnal primate, this animal has large eyes, long legs for jumping and consumes live insects. The mature female of tarsier has a body weight between 110-125 grams, while the weight of mature male is 115-135 grams. Body weight at birth is around 20% of the body weight of the mother.

The sleeping trees or nets of tarsier are predominantly Bambuseae sp., Ficus sp., Imperata cylindrica, Arenga pinnata and Hibiscus tiliaceus. In extreme enviromental conditions, they make nests between Ficus sp. roots, holes in stone and also nests in ground holes or mouse nests to survive (Sinaga et al. 2010). Tarsier can live at varying heights above sea level, depending on the species, from the lowlands up to 2200 above sea level (Supriatna and Wahono 2000). Natural foods consumed by tarsiers are crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, various species of butterflies, cicadas, red ants, tree lizards, small spiders, young birds, and other small insects as reported by Napier and Napier (1967), Supriatna and Wahono (2000), Wirdateti (2005) and Sinaga et al. (2010).

This species is declared protected by the Indonesian government classified in Appendix II. Other species of tarsiers in Indonesia are T. bancanus which is endemic in Kalimantan, Bangka, Belitung and South Sumatra. T. tumpara, endemic on Siau island (Shekelle et al. 2008) and T. lariang in Western Central Sulawesi (Merker and Groves 2006). The picture above were taken at the tarsiers captive breeding facility of the Primate Research Center, Bogor Agricultural University.

disadur dari : Jurnal Primatologi Indonesia (Volume 6, Nomor 2, Desember 2009)