Mammals

These nocturnal primates spend the days sleeping in dense vegetation on vertical branches. They are active at night and twilight when they hunt for insects, snakes, birds and small vertebrates which they seize with both hands. Little is known about reproduction in Tarsius pumilus. In the spectral tarsier, Tarsius spectrum, and possibly Tarsius pumilus there are two breeding seasons a year at the beginning and end of the rainy season, approximately 6 moths apart. Births occur in May and also in from November and December. In other tarsier species sexual maturity is reached at about 1 year. Courtship involves soft vocalisations and much chasing around. Copulation takes place on a tree branch. All species have long gestation periods and give birth to a single young which is born furred with its eyes open. Relative to the body size of the mother tarsiers give birth to the largest babies of any mammal. The young clings to the mother’s abdomen fur and is sometimes carried in her mouth. The spectral tarsier lives in groups of 2 or 3. A promiscuous mating system has been suggested. Olfaction is important in communication and males mark territories with urine and secretions from a gland on chest. Vocalisations in the form of social calls are heard mostly at sun rise. The average home range for tarsiers is approximately 2ha. The extent to which tarsiers use visual signals, such as postures and displays, is not known.

Endemic to central Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is present in the altitudinal range of 1,800 to 2,200m in montane rain forest where it rains frequently and when it is not raining the mountains are shrouded with thick, grey mist.

Unknown.

Unknown.

Listed as Data Deficient in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Recent field surveys had failed to rediscover this species at its reported type locality (Rano Rano in Central Sulawesi). Some researchers doubted its continued existence or even validity as a species. It had not been unambiguously identified in the wild since 1930. However, a recent investigation claims to have found a third specimen in Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

The species is apparently abundant in some localities on Sulawesi but in general is vulnerable. People have attempted to keep tarsiers as pets but they react badly to the trauma of capture and in the absence of live food they usually die within a couple of days. The greatest threat to this species is that of escalating habitat loss and degradation. Fortunately most of this region is still intact and much of the original habitat still remains. Logging activity has been discouraged by the steep slopes and relative low value of timber. However, where logging has occurred severe environmental damage has take place, extensive erosion has resulted and rivers and steams have been clogged with run off. Hunting and human induced fires are also threats and along with logging will probably continue in the future. Other threats include transmigration and local clearance.

In Indonesia tarsiers are protected by law. Tarsiers are listed in Appendix II of CITES; international trade is monitored through a licensing system to ensure that trade can be sustained without detriment to wild populations. Trade in wild, captive bred and artificially propagated specimens is allowed, subject to permit. Twenty-nine protected areas exist in this locality covering approximately 23 percent of the eco-region. The average size of a protected area is 602 km2, and there are five protected areas that exceed 1,000 km2.

There are currently no conservation measures proposed for this species.

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Macdonald, D. (ed.) 2001. The New Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York.

Maryanto, Ibna and Yani, Mohamad (2004) The third record of pygmy tarsier (Tarsius pumilus) from Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tropical Biodiversity 8 (2): 79-85: 2004

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