Tarsius tarsier
Creators: name: Russell A. Mittermeier
name: Anthony B. Rylands
name: Don E. Wilson
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Tarsiidae
Tarsius
Tarsius tarsier

description: 3.
Selayar Tarsier
Tarsius tarsier
French: Tarsier de Selayar / German: Selayar-Koboldmaki / Spanish: Tarsero de Selayar
Other common names: Spectral Tarsier
Taxonomy. Lemur tarsier Erxleben, 1777.
Type locality restricted to the island of Selayar off the south-western peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia, by C. P. Groves and M. Shekelle in 2010.
This species is monotypic.
Distribution. Selayar I, off the tip of the SW peninsula of Sulawesi. A specimen of “ T. spectrum ” was reported by F. Jentink in 1890 from Sawu I (between Sumba and Timor) but based on the historical distribution of tarsiers,this is probably an incorrect provenance.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 12-14 cm (one adult male and one adult female), tail 23-26 cm (one adult male and one adult female); weight 103 g (male) and 98 g (female). The Selayar Tarsier is similar in size to or a little smaller than the Makassar Tarsier (71. fuscus). Pelage of the Selayar Tarsier is grayer than mainland Sulawesi taxa. Its thighs are the same color as body. The black paranasal spot is conspicuous, especially over the nose itself, and there is a conspicuous zone of white or buffy hair on the sides of the upper lip. The tail tuft is short, rather sparse, and not black. It has a distinct duet call.
Habitat. Selayar Island lacks tall mountains, and tarsiers can be found from sea level to the highest hills. The bedrock is mostly uplifted coral, leading to thin poor soil and sparse vegetation. The Selayar Tarsier occurs mostly in degraded and secondary growth patches and farmland scrub.
Food and Feeding. Little specific data exists for this taxon, but as with other tarsiers the Selayar Tarsier presumably eats mainly insects, along with some small vertebrates such as lizards and bats.
Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but a family captured in late September had two juveniles, 73 g and 75 g, respectively, indicating they were born a few months prior to capture.
Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Selayar Tarsier is nocturnal and arboreal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There islittle specific information available for this species. One trapped family consisted of an adult male, an adult female, a subadult female, two juveniles, and one or more animals that escaped capture. By comparison with othertarsiers, the Selayar Tarsier probably lives in small monogamous or polygamous family groups. Their ranging behavior has never been studied, but the home range size is probably similar to that of other lowland eastern tarsiers.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. However, the last IUCN assessment considered all Sulawesi tarsiers that had not been attributed to other species, and the Selayar Tarsier is now known to be restricted to Selayar Island, with total area of occurrence of ¢.820 km? (the entire island). Selayar is a proposed site for a large oil refinery, most of the forest there has been modified or lost, and there are no protected areas. As such, it may be necessary to change their conservation status to Critically Endangered.
Bibliography. Burton & Nietsch (2010), Groves (1998, 2001), Groves & Shekelle (2010), Gursky et al. (2008), Hill (1953a), Shekelle (2008b), Supriatna et al. (2001).
description: Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Tarsiidae, pp. 236-242 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 239, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6631893