TARSIER

Enormous eyes and padded digits are adaptations that evolved in the tarsier (Tarsius), a (genus Tarsius) any of three species of small primates, family Tarsiidae, intermediate in form between lemurs and monkeys. Tarsiers are found on several Southeast Asian islands including the Philippines, Celebes, Borneo, and Sumatra. They have long legs, short bodies, and rounded heads that can be rotated through 180. Their faces are short, and the eyes, their most striking feature, are large and goggling. The ears are large, membranous, and almost constantly in motion. Tarsiers are about 916 cm (3.56 inches) long, excluding the tail, which is about twice that length. Their fur is thick, silky, and coloured gray to dark brown. Tarsiers cling vertically to trees and leap from trunk to trunk. They are well adapted to an arboreal life by the great elongation of their hindlimbs, by the expansion of the tips of the digits into disklike, adhesive pads, and by possession of the long, thin, tufted tail that serves as a balancer and prop. They are nocturnal animals and prey mainly on insects. A single young is produced in a fairly well-developed state, well furred and with eyes open; gestation may require about six months.