tarsier

tar·si·er

T0051400 (tär′sē-ər, -sē-ā′)n. Any of several small insectivorous primates of the genus Tarsius of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, being nocturnal and arboreal and having extremely large round eyes, a long tail, and long digits with nails except for the second and third toes, which have claws.

[French, from tarse, tarsus (from its elongated ankles), from New Latin tarsus; see tarsus.]

tarsier

(ˈtɑːsɪə) n (Animals) any of several nocturnal arboreal prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius, of Indonesia and the Philippines, having huge eyes, long hind legs, and digits ending in pads to facilitate climbing: family Tarsiidae[C18: from French, from tarse the flat of the foot; see tarsus]

tar•si•er

(ˈtɑr si ər, -siˌeɪ)

n. any small tree-dwelling SE Asian primate of the genus Tarsius, suborder Tarsioideae, having a long naked tail and very large eyes. [1765–75; < French, =tarse tarsus + -ier -ier²]

Thesaurus

Noun

tarsier - nocturnal arboreal primate of Indonesia and the Philippines having huge eyes and digits ending in pads to facilitate climbing; the only primate that spurns all plant material as food living entirely on insects and small vertebratesprimate - any placental mammal of the order Primates; has good eyesight and flexible hands and feetgenus Tarsius, Tarsius - type and sole genus of the family TarsiidaeTarsius syrichta - a variety of tarsierTarsius glis - a variety of tarsier

tarsier

(tär`sēər), small, nocturnal, forest-dwelling prosimian primateprimate,
member of the mammalian order Primates, which includes humans, apes, monkeys, and prosimians, or lower primates. The group can be traced to the late Cretaceous period, where members were forest dwellers.
..... Click the link for more information. , genus Tarsius. There are at least three species found in the Philippines, in Sumatra and Borneo, and in Sulawesi. Tarsiers are about 6 in. (15 cm) long with a 10 in. (25 cm) hairless tail, and weigh about 4.5 oz (130 g). The body is covered with dense brown fur. Enormous round eyes are set close together in a flat face. Tarsiers' legs are specialized for climbing and jumping and end in long, thin digits bearing adhesive pads. They feed on insects and reptiles. They are believed to mate for life and to form family groups. Tarsiers are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Primates, family Tarsiidae.

Bibliography

See M. Kavanagh, Monkeys, Apes and Other Primates (1983); J. R. Napier and P. H. Napier, The Natural History of the Primates (1985).

tarsier

[′tär·sē‚ā] (vertebrate zoology) Any of several species of primates comprising the genus Tarsius of the family Tarsiidae characterized by a round skull, a flattened face, and large eyes that are separated from the temporal fossae in the orbital depression, and by adhesive pads on the expanded ends of the fingers and toes.

tarsier

any of several nocturnal arboreal prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius, of Indonesia and the Philippines, having huge eyes, long hind legs, and digits ending in pads to facilitate climbing: family Tarsiidae

tarsier

tar·si·er

tarsier

tar•si•er

tarsier

tarsier

Bibliography

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Words related to tarsier

noun nocturnal arboreal primate of Indonesia and the Philippines having huge eyes and digits ending in pads to facilitate climbing

Related Words