Haplorhini: Tarsiiformes (tarsiers)

The previous reading discussed the physical differences between the Strepsirrhini and the Haplorhini. Within the Haplorhini, there are a number of different groups, but the first split occurs between the Infraorder Tarsiiformes (the name means "shaped like a tarsier") and the Infraorder Simiiformes (which means "shaped like a monkey or an ape").

How to tell a Tarsiiform from the Simiiformes

Tarsiiformes have more primative characteristics than the other Haplorhini primates. In many ways, they look more like the Strepsirrhini, which is why Tarsiiformes are often grouped with Lorisiformes and Lemuriformes as "prosimians". The term "prosimian", though, is not a valid taxonomic category. The major shared, derived traits (synapomorphies) that distinguish the tarsiiformes from the other Haplorhini are:

Tarsiiformes

Tarsiiformes (the tarsiers) are a unique blend of primitive and derived traits. They are physically very distinct because of their huge eyes. Because their eyes are unable to move within the sockets, their head is able to turn almost all the way around.

Distribution:

Tarsiiformes are found on the islands of SE Asia.

Locomotion:

Tarsiers are clingers and leapers

Social Organization:

Tarsiers form monogamous pairs (they form a couple, share a territory, and raise their young together).

Habitat:

Tarsiers live in tropical forests, but do well around people, frequently living in gardens.* They are fully arboreal, hardly ever leaving the trees.

Active time:

Tarsiers are nocturnal (hence the huge eyes). They are the only group of Haplorhini who are not diurnal, with the exception of one South American monkey species. This nocturnal niche is one of the ways they have survived, despite competition from more advanced primate species.

Diet: Tarsiers are insectivorous.

______

*The first thing you thought when you read that sentence was, "I want a garden tarsier." Don't even try to deny it.