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{{Taxobox 
| name = Tarsiers
| image =  Tarsier-GG.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption= [[Philippine tarsier]] (''Carlito syrichta'')
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Primate]]s
| subordo = [[Haplorhini]]
| infraordo = '''Tarsiiformes'''
| infraordo_authority = [[William King Gregory|Gregory]], 1915
| familia = '''Tarsiidae'''
| familia_authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1825
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genus|Genera]]
| subdivision =
''[[Carlito (genus)|Carlito]]''<br/>
''[[Cephalopachus]]''<br/>
''[[Tarsius]]''}}

The '''tarsiers''' are [[prosimian]] (non-monkey) [[primate]]s. They got their name from the long bones in their feet. They are now placed together with the [[simian]]s ([[monkey]]s).

They live in trees, and  are entirely [[nocturnal]]. Tarsiers are the only [[primates]] which are wholly [[carnivorous]]. They mainly eat [[insects]], but some are also known to eat birds and snakes. Tarsiers can catch prey like birds even if they are in motion as the tarsiers jump from tree to tree to catch their prey.<ref name=Niemitz>Niemitz C. (ed) 1984. ''Biology of tarsiers''. New York: Gustav Fischer.</ref>

== Senses ==
Tarsiers have incredibly good hearing.<ref name="ShekelleMyronGursky2010">{{cite journal | last = Shekelle, Myron & Gursky 2010. | title = Why tarsiers? Why now? An introduction to the special edition on tarsiers | url = | journal = International Journal of Primatology | year = 2010 | volume = 31 | issue = 6| pages = 937–940 | doi=10.1007/s10764-010-9459-6| s2cid = 326565 }}</ref>

They have large eyes. Each is about 16 [[mm]] wide.They are very sensitive to touch, and weigh as much as their entire brain.<ref>{{cite book |last= Shumaker, Robert W. & Beck, Benjamin B. |title= Primates in question |publisher= Smithsonian Books |year= 2003 |isbn= 1-58834-151-8 }}</ref> Unlike many nocturnal animals, tarsiers lack a light-reflecting area ([[tapetum lucidum]]) of the eye. They also have a [[fovea]],  which is also not usual in nocturnal animals.

=== Brain difference ===
The tarsier's brain is different from other primates in one respect. The sequence of cell layers in the [[lateral geniculate nucleus]] getting information from both eyes is different from the set-up in [[lemur]]s, [[lorises]], and [[monkey]]s.<ref name="Rosa1996">{{cite journal |last= Rosa M.G; Pettigrew J.D. & Cooper H.M. 1996. |title=Unusual pattern of retinogeniculate projections in the controversial primate ''Tarsius'' |journal=Brain Behavior and Evolution |year=1996 |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=121–129 |doi=10.1159/000113191 |url= |accessdate= |quote= |pmid=8872317}}</ref> "This apparent difference distinguishes tarsiers from all other primates, and reinforces the view that they arose in an early, independent line of primate evolution".<ref name="Collins2005">{{cite journal |last=Collins C.E; Hendrickson A. & Kaas J.H. |year=2005 |title=Overview of the visual system of ''tarsius'' |journal=The Anatomical Record Part A |volume=287 |issue=1 |pages=1013–1025 |doi=10.1002/ar.a.20263 |url= |accessdate= |quote= |pmid=16200648 |s2cid=21448186 }}</ref>

== Reproduction ==
[[Pregnancy]] takes about six months, which is a long time for such a small animal.<ref name=Izard1985>{{cite journal |last=Izard, Kay M. & Wright, Simon |year=1985 |title=Gestation length in ''Tarsius bancanus'' |journal=Am. J. Primatology |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=327–331 |doi=10.1002/ajp.1350090408 |pmid=31979510 |s2cid=83711759 |url= |accessdate= |quote= }}</ref> Tarsiers give birth to single offspring.

== History ==
They were once widespread, but now tarsiers live only on islands in south-east [[Asia]]. Fossils are found in Asia, [[Europe]], and [[North America]], and some disputed fossils from [[Africa]]. Living tarsiers are on several southeast Asian islands, including the [[Philippines]], [[Sulawesi]], [[Borneo]], and [[Sumatra]].

They also have the longest continuous [[fossil]] record of any primate. The fossil record shows that their teeth have not changed much, except in size, in the past 45 million years. That means what they eat, and probably their [[lifestyle]], has not changed much, either.<ref name=Niemitz/>

== Mass media ==
Tarsiers are said to be the inspiration for the famous movie character [[Yoda]] of [[Star Wars]] due to their small size but excellent hunting skills.

== Conservation status ==
One tarsier species, [[Dian's tarsier]] (''Tarsius dentatus''), is listed by on the [[World Conservation Union|IUCN]] Red List as being "lower risk – conservation dependent". [[Horsfield's tarsier]] (''Cephalopachus bancanus'') is listed as "lower risk – least concern". The [[spectral tarsier]] (''Tarsius spectrum'') is categorized as "lower risk, not threatened". The [[pygmy tarsier]] (''Tarsius pumilus'') was thought to be [[extinct]] until a family were found in 2008.<ref name="Dunham2008">{{Cite news | url = http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKTRE4AH96X20081118 | title = Tiny, long-lost primate rediscovered in Indonesia | last = Dunham | first = Will | date = 2008-11-18 | publisher = Reuters | accessdate = 2008-11-19 | archive-date = 2008-12-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081220182826/http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKTRE4AH96X20081118 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="Locke2008">{{Cite journal | last = Locke | first = S.F. | date = 2008-11-19 | title = Tiny primate rediscovered in Indonesia | journal = Scientific American | url = http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=tiny-primate-rediscovered-in-indone-2008-11-19 | accessdate = 2008-11-19}}</ref> The two males and single female (a fourth escaped) were captured using [[net]]s, and were radio collared to track their movements. Other tarsier species are listed as "data deficient".

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Tarsier.jpg
Image:Philippine sarangani tarsier.jpg
Image:Spectral Tarsier.jpg|Spectral Tarsier 
Image:Tarsius syrichta.jpg
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Other websites ==
* [http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/links/tarsius Primate Info Net - Primate factsheets & more: Tarsius sp.]
* [http://educatedearth.net/video.php?id=2934 Video of a tarsier eating a cricket]
* [http://www.fieldmuseum.org/philippine_mammals/ A synopsis of the mammalian fauna of the Philippine islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812085813/http://www.fieldmuseum.org/philippine_mammals/ |date=2006-08-12 }}
* [http://www.bohol.ph/article.php?id=15&sid=d0813a89bdf40f41363823a76edf72f2 The Philippine tarsier]

[[Category:Primates]]
[[Category:Mammals of Asia]]

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