Tarsier

Wednesday 8 August 2012

 Tarsier:  Tarsiers are haplorrhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all the species living today are found in the islands of Southeast Asia.Fossils of tarsiiform primates are found in Asia, Europe, and North America, with disputed fossils from Africa, but extant tarsiers are restricted to several Southeast Asian islands, including the Philippines, Sulawesi, Borneo, and Sumatra. The fossil record indicates their dentition has not changed much, except in size, in 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 is sometimes listed in its own family, Afrotarsiidae, within the infraorder Tarsiiformes, or considered an anthropoid primate. So far, three fossil species of the genus Tarsius are known from the fossil record:
Tarsius eocaenus is known from the Middle Eocene in China. 
Tarsius thailandicus lived during the Early Miocene in northwestern Thailand.    
Tarsius sirindhornae lived during the Middle Miocene in northern Thailand.

  Tarsier
  Tarsier
  Tarsier
 Tarsier

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