Tarsiidae

Tarsiers ( ) are haplorhineprimates of the familyTarsiidae, which is the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was prehistorically more globally widespread, all of the existing species are native to Maritime Southeast Asia, predominantly in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.They are found primarily in forested habitats, especially forests that have liana, since the vine gives tarsiers vertical support when climbing trees. Evolutionary historyFossil recordFossils of tarsiiform primates have been found in other parts of Asia, (with disputed fossils from Northern Africa), but extant tarsiers are restricted to several Southeast Asian islands. The fossil record indicates that their dentition has not changed much, except in size, over 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 it is sometimes listed in its own family, Afrotarsiidae, within the infraorder Tarsiiformes, or considered a simian (anthropoid) primate. So far, four fossil species of tarsiers are known from the fossil record: Tarsius eocaenus is know