Environment

Pygmy Tarsiers - real-life furbys found

by amyjudd | November 19, 2008 at 08:32 am

2646 views | 11 Recommendations | 11 comments

Pygmy Tarsiers, or real-life Furbys, have been found alive after 70 years in the highlands of an Indonesian island. Three of the little pygmys were trapped and tracked on Mount Rorekatimbo in Lore Lindu National Park in Central Sulawesi.

Before now, only three furbys, or Pygmy Tarsiers, had been found; in 1916 and 1930.

Texas A&M anthropologist Sharon Gursky-Doyen, leader of the expedition, said the tarsiers were found on mountainsides above 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) in elevation, amid damp, dangerous terrain. "I actually broke my fibula walking around there," she told msnbc.com.

Pygmy tarsiers rank among the rarest of the many tarsier species in Asia and the Pacific — and in fact some primatologists had written them off as extinct.
They have the distinctive, big-eyed look often associated with Furbys, gremlin-like talking toys that were popular in the late 1990s. Compared with the robotic Furbys, however, the real animals' dimensions are seriously downsized: They typically measure less than 4 inches (105 mm) from head to tail, with most of that length being tail. They weigh less than 2 ounces. And unlike Furbys, they hardly ever vocalize.

These primates are different because they have claws instead of nails, and have evolved differently from other species.

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Paschen

at 08:49 on November 19th, 2008

Great links and Good to know that some have survived in the Highlands.

jordan

at 08:54 on November 19th, 2008

I bet most tarsiers would resent the comparison to those terrifying robo-mogwais.

danesller0127

at 09:41 on November 19th, 2008

Everyone's always talking about the 'pygmy tarciers', recently it's been rediscovered in the forests of Indonesia.

In the Philippines, Tarcier (Tarsus Syrichta) is one of the smallest primates, known locally as the 'Maumag' in Cebuano/Visayan, is an endimic, and endangered species, this tiny animal is listed in the Guiness Book Of Records, as the largest eyes on any mammals, measuring only for about 4 to 6 inches, no larger than an adult men's hand, wth an excellent night vision.

Actually, it's also found in the southeastern part of the archipelago, particularly in the islands of Bohol, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. The name is derived from its elongated "Tarsus" or ankle bone.

amyjudd

at 13:55 on November 19th, 2008

Thanks for this extra information

forthebetta

at 10:08 on November 19th, 2008

do they multiply when you pour water on them?

.. cause i want one as a pet.

amyjudd

at 13:55 on November 19th, 2008

I want one as a pet too!

jessica.lam

at 13:51 on November 19th, 2008

Wow. It's great that they found them after so long but the idea that they could have Gremlin-like qualities scare me beyond measure.

renebenzon

at 16:33 on November 19th, 2008

Southeastern Part of the Philippine archipelago- A nocturnal animal that's considered endangered by the IUCN Conservation Monitoring Center and By the Department of Environment and Natural Resources most recently in 2000. The Philippine Tarsier Foundation have established an escalated effort to protect these animals ( approximately 1000 still left in the wild ) such as controlled logging, forest conservation projects and government-funded public education and awareness ( Hunters and Poachers are one of its biggest threat). Also, being classified as such, the sale and trade of these species is strictly prohibited. SDG

renebenzon has contributed a photo to this story.

Riky Tenggara

at 23:12 on November 21st, 2008

One of the locals said an interesting fact about these Tarsiers, he said that these Tarsiers will only mate with one Tarsiers for the rest of it's life.. much like Pigeon.. and he said that if it's "soulmate" dies the other one will soon follow..

Riky Tenggara has contributed a photo to this story.

quiet.fyre

at 03:27 on December 5th, 2008

Tarsiers are like a cross between a mogwai and that girl from the exorcist. They can jump up to 40 times their height, turn their heads 180 degrees in either direction, and there's a pretty good chance they are of direct blood relation to Yoda.

quiet.fyre has contributed a photo to this story.