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Pop Culture:Bohol Island Tarsier Pop Arts Enthusiast



Bohol Tarsier Pop Culture:

Fun Collectible Stuffed Toy~Tarsy

Some Tarsier fact:

Bohol Tarsiers (Tarsius Syrichta) measures 4 to 5 inches and is considered as the world’s smallest primate. Its size is no longer than an adult man’s hand and weigh only about 113 to 142 grams or four to five ounces. The primate belongs to the more primitive sub-order Prosimii or prosimian that dates back 45 million years.

With its tail longer than its body, it has large brown eyes, hairless ears and long finger-like claws. It has gray fur and a nearly naked tail that is more often than not about 232 mm in length. The tails arc over their back when they hop on the ground apparently to balance themselves. The underside of the tail has dermal ridges such as those found on human hands and feet.

Tarsiers have large mesmerizing eyes whose bony eye sockets are larger than that of its brain case as well as of its stomach. The eye sockets have post-orbital closure which keeps the eyeballs from being pressed against by the powerful temporal muscles to their sides.

Much like the owl, the tarsier can rotate its head 180 degrees in each direction. It has a joint between its skull base and spine to allow this particular head movement. Its upper lip lacks a cleft yet, but still has muscles, so that it can make facial expressions. The adult brain weighs about 4 grams.
Tarsiers have sharp teeth, enabling them to catch their prey easier. Unique among primates, tarsiers have only two, rather than four, incisors in their lower jaw. Their dental formula is 2.1.3.3 1.1.3.3 x 2 = 34.

The animal can also leap even up to 10 feet and agilely maneuver itself from tree to tree. This ability may be due to the fact that they have extra-long tarsal bones which form their ankles and enable them to leap so high. The tarsiers name was derived from the word ‘tarsal’.

Tarsiers are nocturnal creatures, like the owls – sleeping during daytime yet very active at night. They hide in hollows close to the ground; hunts and feeds mainly on fruits and insects such as cockroaches, crickets, and sometimes small lizards. Local folks believe they eat charcoal but in fact they only get the maggots or insects inside burnt wood or to get some salt.

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