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Tarsier
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Tarsier
Tarsiers (/ˈtɑːrsiərz/ TAR-see-ərz) are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was prehistorically more globally widespread, all of the existing species are restricted to Maritime Southeast Asia, predominantly in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
They are found primarily in forested habitats, especially forests that have liana, since the vine gives tarsiers vertical support when climbing trees.
Fossils of tarsiiform primates have been found in Asia, Europe, and North America (with disputed fossils from Northern Africa), but extant tarsiers are restricted to several Southeast Asian islands. The fossil record indicates that their dentition has not changed much, except in size, over the past 45 million years.
Within the family Tarsiidae, there are two extinct genera—Xanthorhysis and Afrotarsius; however, the placement of Afrotarsius is not certain, and it is sometimes listed in its own family, Afrotarsiidae, within the infraorder Tarsiiformes, or considered a simian (anthropoid) primate.
So far, four fossil species of tarsiers are known from the fossil record:
The genus Tarsius has a longer fossil record than any other primate genus, but the assignment of the Eocene and Miocene fossils to the genus is dubious.
The phylogenetic position of extant tarsiers within the order Primates has been debated for much of the 20th century, and tarsiers have alternately been classified with strepsirrhine primates in the suborder Prosimii, or as the sister group to the simians (Anthropoidea) in the infraorder Haplorhini. Analysis of SINE insertions, a type of macromutation to the DNA, is argued to offer very persuasive evidence for the monophyly of Haplorhini, where other lines of evidence, such as DNA sequence data, remain ambiguous. Thus, some systematists argue the debate is conclusively settled in favor of a monophyletic Haplorrhini. In common with simians, tarsiers have a mutation in the L-gulonolactone oxidase (GULO) gene, which prevents their bodies from synthesizing vitamin C so they must find it in the diet. Since the strepsirrhines do not have this mutation and have retained the ability to make vitamin C, the genetic trait that confers the need for it in the diet would tend to place tarsiers with haplorhines.
At a lower phylogenetic level, the tarsiers have, until recently, all been placed in the genus Tarsius, while it was debated whether the species should be placed in two (a Sulawesi and a Philippine-western group) or three separate genera (Sulawesi, Philippine and western groups). Species level taxonomy is complex, with morphology often being of limited use compared to vocalizations.[citation needed] Further confusion existed over the validity of certain names. Among others, the widely used T. dianae has been shown to be a junior synonym of T. dentatus, and comparably, T. spectrum is now considered a junior synonym of T. tarsier.
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Tarsier
Tarsiers (/ˈtɑːrsiərz/ TAR-see-ərz) are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was prehistorically more globally widespread, all of the existing species are restricted to Maritime Southeast Asia, predominantly in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
They are found primarily in forested habitats, especially forests that have liana, since the vine gives tarsiers vertical support when climbing trees.
Fossils of tarsiiform primates have been found in Asia, Europe, and North America (with disputed fossils from Northern Africa), but extant tarsiers are restricted to several Southeast Asian islands. The fossil record indicates that their dentition has not changed much, except in size, over the past 45 million years.
Within the family Tarsiidae, there are two extinct genera—Xanthorhysis and Afrotarsius; however, the placement of Afrotarsius is not certain, and it is sometimes listed in its own family, Afrotarsiidae, within the infraorder Tarsiiformes, or considered a simian (anthropoid) primate.
So far, four fossil species of tarsiers are known from the fossil record:
The genus Tarsius has a longer fossil record than any other primate genus, but the assignment of the Eocene and Miocene fossils to the genus is dubious.
The phylogenetic position of extant tarsiers within the order Primates has been debated for much of the 20th century, and tarsiers have alternately been classified with strepsirrhine primates in the suborder Prosimii, or as the sister group to the simians (Anthropoidea) in the infraorder Haplorhini. Analysis of SINE insertions, a type of macromutation to the DNA, is argued to offer very persuasive evidence for the monophyly of Haplorhini, where other lines of evidence, such as DNA sequence data, remain ambiguous. Thus, some systematists argue the debate is conclusively settled in favor of a monophyletic Haplorrhini. In common with simians, tarsiers have a mutation in the L-gulonolactone oxidase (GULO) gene, which prevents their bodies from synthesizing vitamin C so they must find it in the diet. Since the strepsirrhines do not have this mutation and have retained the ability to make vitamin C, the genetic trait that confers the need for it in the diet would tend to place tarsiers with haplorhines.
At a lower phylogenetic level, the tarsiers have, until recently, all been placed in the genus Tarsius, while it was debated whether the species should be placed in two (a Sulawesi and a Philippine-western group) or three separate genera (Sulawesi, Philippine and western groups). Species level taxonomy is complex, with morphology often being of limited use compared to vocalizations.[citation needed] Further confusion existed over the validity of certain names. Among others, the widely used T. dianae has been shown to be a junior synonym of T. dentatus, and comparably, T. spectrum is now considered a junior synonym of T. tarsier.
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