Tarsier

The enormous eyes

A tarsier’s eyes are fixed in their sockets — they cannot rotate. To look left or right, the animal must rotate its head, which it can do 180 degrees in either direction (and even beyond, like an owl). Each eye is approximately 16 mm in diameter — roughly the same size as the tarsier’s brain. If scaled to human size, the equivalent eyes would be the size of grapefruit. These enormous eyes gather maximum light for highly sensitive night vision.

Only carnivorous primate

Tarsiers are the only entirely carnivorous primates. Their diet consists of insects (beetles, grasshoppers, cockroaches), spiders, small lizards, frogs, and occasionally small birds and snakes. They hunt by hearing — large, mobile ears can rotate independently to locate prey — then launch precise leaping attacks. The long hind legs, padded toes with adhesive discs, and elongated ankle bones (tarsals — giving the group its name) allow spectacular leaps of up to 40 times body length.

Ancient lineage

Tarsiers represent an ancient primate lineage — their ancestors diverged from the common primate line more than 50 million years ago. Fossil tarsiers very similar to living species are known from the Eocene. They were once widespread across North America, Europe, and Asia, but are now confined to Southeast Asian islands.

Ultrasonic communication

Tarsiers communicate partly through ultrasonic calls — frequencies above human hearing — making them unusual among primates. Their calls serve territorial and mating functions and can be recorded only with specialist equipment. Disturbance and stress cause tarsiers to engage in self-injurious behaviour or even die suddenly — captivity has an extremely poor record for the species.