Tarsius Pelengensis
Tarsius Pelengensis
This species is considered rare because it is only found on Peleng Island. Like tarsiers, this animal is nocturnal and can turn its head to 180 degrees. This animal is a carnivore that likes prey of live animals, most of them are insects.
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammals
Order: Primates
Upaordo: Haplorrhini
Infraordo: Tarsiiformes (Gregory, 1915)
Family: Tarsiidae (Gray, 1825)
Genus: Tarsius (Storr, 1780)
Species: Tarsius pelengensis (Sody, 1949)
Common names: Tarsius Peleng, Peleng Tarsier, Peleng Island Tarsier
Population
Until now there have been no specific studies related to the population of this species in their natural habitat. Some researchers assert that using the tarsier model in the east is around 156 / km2 in good habitat (Gursky 1997). The trend of this species population is estimated to continue to decline due to the decreasing level, quality and extent of habitat. The Geographic Information System (GIS) indicates that only about 211 km2 (about 9%) of Peleng Island (area 2339 km2) is a habitat that is still categorized as good and 1474 km2 is categorized enough to become a tarsier conservation area.
Distribution
This species is found on Peleng Island (Sody 1949), one of the islands in the Banggai District, Islands, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. Some reports state that this animal may also be found on other islands near the Banggai Islands. If the report is accurate, this will expand the distribution range of T. pelengensis.
Habitat
According to M. Indrawan and Y. Masala, this species is believed to inhabit mangrove forests and primary and secondary lowlands (up to 520 m). Like all tarsiers, this species shows extreme adaptation to vertically and leaping (vertical clinging and leaping, VCL) in suitable tropical habitats, often up to 2 meters high from the ground. T. pelengensis lives in monogamus or polygamus social groups consisting of 2-6 groups.
Conservation
In 2008 IUCN included this species into the Red List (endangered) category. But in Indonesia this species is listed in CITES Appendix II, a species that is not threatened with extinction, but may be threatened with extinction if trade continues without regulation.
Editor: Diah Iskandriati
Photo: Fauna dan Flora
Library reference
Shekelle, M., Salim, A., Groves, C.P. & Indrawan, M. 2008. Tarsius pelengensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T21494A9290015. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T21494A9290015.en. Downloaded on 5 December 2016.
