Tarsiers

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The tarsiers are the members of the Tarsius genus of prosimian primates, monotypic in the Tarsiidae family and Tarsiiformes infraorder. The entire infraorder was previously classified in the Strepsirhini suborder, but now classified in the Haplorrhini suborder, although they are not considered to be monkeys. Evidence for the position of Tarsier in the primate tree came for example from retrotransposon presence/absence data. Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name, and most are nocturnal. They are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on birds and snakes. Gestation takes about six months, and tarsiers give birth to single offspring. Once found in Asia, Europe and North America, tarsiers are now only found on several Southeast Asian islands including the Philippines, Sulawesi, Borneo, and Sumatra. Their conservation status has been classified as "Lower Risk/Conservation Dependent". When caged, some tarsiers have been known to injure and even kill themselves because of the stress. They also have the longest continuous fossil record of any primate, and the fossil record suggests that their dental pattern and shape hasn't changed in 45 million years. Unlike many nocturnal animals, tarsiers lack a light-reflecting area (tapetum lucidum) of the eye. They also have a fovea, atypical for nocturnal animals. The tarsier is also known to be the inspiration for the famous movie character Yoda of Star Wars due to its small size but excellent hunting skills. Tarsiers can catch prey like birds even if they are in motion as the tarsiers jump from tree to tree to catch their prey. (From: Wikipedia)