The Makassar tarsier (Tarsius fuscus), also known locally as Balao Cengke,[2] is a species of tarsier. Its range is in Indonesia in the southwestern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, near Makassar. At one point the taxon was downgraded to a junior synonym of the spectral tarsier (T. tarsier). However, when that species' range was restricted to the population on a single island near Sulawesi, this nomen was resurrected to contain the remainder of that species.[3]
Taxonomic confusion
The taxonomy of the tarsiers from Sulawesi has long been confused.[4]T. fuscus was initially described by Fischer in 1804.[4] The species was subsequently renamed twice inadvertently, as T. fuscomanus in 1812 by Geoffroy and as T. fischeri in 1846 by Burmeister.[4] In 1953 William Charles Osman Hill concluded that the type locality of T. spectrum was actually Makassar, although it was stated to have come from Ambon.[4] As a result, Hill concluded that T. fuscus was a junior synonym of T. spectrum.[4]T. spectrum was later determined to be a junior synonym of T. tarsier.[5] In 2010, Groves restricted T. tarsier to just those tarsiers on the island of Selayar, making the name T. fuscus valid once again for the tarsiers near Makassar.[3][6]
Description
The Makassar tarsier has generally reddish-brown fur.[3] The hair at the end of the tail is black.[3] It has shorter skull and shorter toothrows than most other tarsiers.[3] It also has shorter hind feet than other tarsiers.[3] The tail is shorter relative to body size than most tarsiers, representing 143% to 166% of the body length.[3]
^ abSchwartz, J.H. (2003). "How Close Are the Similarities between Tarsius and Other Primates". Tarsiers: past, present, and future. Rutgers University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN9780813532363.