Tarsier

Tarsiers are prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius. Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name. They are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on birds and snakes. As they jump from tree to tree, tarsiers can catch even birds in motion. Tarsiers have never formed successful breeding colonies in captivity, and when caged, tarsiers have been known to injure and even kill themselves because of the stress.

Big-eyed tarsiers: Tarsiers have remarkably large eyes, about 1.6cm. Each eye is bigger than the entire brain and larger than the stomach. So much so that they cannot move their eyes within the sockets. Instead, they special modifications to their neck vertebrae allowing them to rotate their heads nearly 360 degrees, even though they seem to have almost no neck! Unlike most other nocturnal creatures, however, tarsiers do not have a reflective layer behind the eyes (tapetum). They have excellent hearing, using their large funnel-like ears which are hairless, and thin and membranous. They can furl and unfurl their ears.

Ugly Animals - Tarsier








6 comments:

Anonymous said...

i just randomly ran into your blog and it's really nice and interesting, although i personally wouldn't classify any of these animals as "ugly", i mean...how can you not wish to cuddle something with the huge eyes and cute hands as the tarsier?? :3
good job on the blog anyway! Giulia

Anonymous said...

some of these animals i find very pretty but some are definately ugly!

Anonymous said...

Tarsiers are very cute animals! I already touched one when i visited the Philippines. It is really an amazing creature, kinda reminds me of gremlins though. :))

Anonymous said...

Nooo i love tarsiers they are amazing!!!

Anonymous said...

I would love to see one in reality they are so cute and eat insects so they are beneficial for sure. I bet their endangered.

Don

Rabbit Images said...

Haha I have seen this all my life because it lives in my country. They are quite weird actually. Their eyes are like that because they are nocturnal - like owls.

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