Wallace's Tarsier
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Wallace's tarsier (''Tarsius wallacei''), is a species of
Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
tarsier Tarsiers ( ) 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 M ...
(all tarsiers from the genus
tarsius ''Tarsius'' is a genus of tarsiers, small primates native to islands of Maritime Southeast Asia, with almost all of its species found on Sulawesi Island. Until 2010, all tarsier species were typically assigned to this genus, but a revision of t ...
are from Sulawesi and its surrounding islands). It is found in the forests of what is referred to geologically as the neck of
Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
in
Central Sulawesi Central Sulawesi (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The provin ...
. It is a small brown arboreal
primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
of the infraorder
Tarsiiformes Tarsiiformes are a group of primates that once ranged across Europe, northern Africa, Asia, and North America, but whose extant species are all found in the islands of Southeast Asia. Tarsiers (family Tarsiidae) are the only living members of ...
less than long. Locally in Kaili-Da'a dialect it is called Tangkasi, while in Kaili-Ledo dialect, it is called Toga.


Taxonomy

Wallace's tarsier was first described as ''T. wallacei'' by Stefan Merker et al. in 2010, the type locality being about south of
Palu Palu, officially known as the City of Palu ( Indonesian: ''Kota Palu''), is the capital and largest city of Central Sulawesi Province in Indonesia. Palu is located on the northwestern coast of Sulawesi and borders Donggala Regency to the north ...
, the capital of Central Sulawesi, near the village of Uwemanje. There are two separate populations which are morphologically similar but differ in the size of the animal. The new species was named in honour of the British naturalist,
Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was an English naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection; his 1858 pap ...
.


Description

Wallace's tarsier is similar in size and appearance to other lowland tarsiers and has a head-and-body length of between . It is larger than the
pygmy tarsier The pygmy tarsier (''Tarsius pumilus''), also known as the mountain tarsier or the lesser spectral tarsier, is a nocturnal primate found in central Sulawesi, Indonesia, in an area with lower vegetative species diversity than the lowland tropical ...
(''Tarsius pumilus''). It has large eyes, a clearly defined facial-mask, white spots behind its ears and a long tail with a large bushy tail-tuft. Its fur is yellowish-brown and its throat is copper-coloured. Although morphologically similar to other species of tarsier found on Sulawesi, it has a distinctive duetting call, and genetic analysis shows that its
mitochondrial A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used ...
and Y-chromosomal
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
sequences, and its
microsatellite A microsatellite is a tract of repetitive DNA in which certain Sequence motif, DNA motifs (ranging in length from one to six or more base pairs) are repeated, typically 5–50 times. Microsatellites occur at thousands of locations within an organ ...
allele frequencies, are unique.


Distribution and habitat

Wallace's tarsier is endemic to
Central Sulawesi Central Sulawesi (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Sulawesi Tengah'') is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located at the centre of the island of Sulawesi. The administrative capital and largest city is located in Palu. The provin ...
in Indonesia, specifically
Sigi Regency Sigi Regency is a regency of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. It was created on 21 July 2008 by splitting off the southern districts from Donggala Regency. It lies upstream on the Palu River, and immediately south of Palu city, the provincial capital. ...
,
Donggala Regency Donggala Regency is a regency in the Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It lies between 0° 30" north and 2°20" south latitude, and between 119° 45°" and 121° 45" east longitude, and covers a land area of 5,126.59 km2. It had a popul ...
, and
Parigi Moutong Regency Parigi Moutong Regency is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Central Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. The regency was created on 10 April 2002 by splitting off the eastern districts previously part of Donggala Regency. It covers an area of 5,877. ...
. There are two separate populations, northern and southern, separated by Palu Bay, city of
Palu Palu, officially known as the City of Palu ( Indonesian: ''Kota Palu''), is the capital and largest city of Central Sulawesi Province in Indonesia. Palu is located on the northwestern coast of Sulawesi and borders Donggala Regency to the north ...
, and southern parts of the Isthmus of Palu, the area which is inhabited by
Dian's tarsier Dian's tarsier (''Tarsius dentatus''), also known as the Diana tarsier, is a nocturnal primate endemic to central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its head-body length is and it has a tail of . Dian's tarsier lives in rainforests. It was formerly called ''T ...
. The southern population occupies an area of approximately around the Kaili-Da'a village of Uwemanje in Sigi. This tarsier is arboreal and is found in both primary and secondary forest and in degraded areas.


Status

Wallace's tarsier has a limited range, especially the southern form. The total population is unknown but is thought to be decreasing as forest is cleared to make way for plantation crops. The
International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
has rated it as "vulnerable". The northern population includes the Gunung Sojol Nature Reserve within its range. However, the southern population has such a small range that any setback to the population could have a high impact.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q588616 Wallace's tarsier Endemic fauna of Indonesia Mammals of Sulawesi Primates of Indonesia Wallace's tarsier