Endemic Animals of Sulawesi

The pygmy tarsier (Tarsius pumilus ), also known as the mountain tarsier or the lesser spectral tarsier, is a nocturnal primate found in central Sulawesi, Indonesia, in an area with lower vegetative species diversity than the lowland tropical forests. The pygmy tarsier was believed to have become extinct in the early 20th century. Then, in 2000, Indonesian scientists accidentally killed one while trapping rats. The first pygmy tarsiers seen ...
alive since the 1920s were found by a research team led by Dr. Sharon Gursky and Ph.D. student Nanda Grow from Texas A&M University on Mount Rore Katimbo in Lore Lindu National Park in August 2008. The two males and single female (a fourth escaped) were captured using nets, and were radio collared to track their movements. As the first live pygmy tarsiers seen in 80-plus years, these captures dispelled the belief among some primatologists that the species was extinct. Less

The Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra ), also known as the crested black macaque, Sulawesi crested macaque, or the black ape, is an Old World monkey that lives in the Tangkoko reserve in the northeastern tip of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (Celebes), as well as on smaller neighboring islands. Less

The spectral tarsier (Tarsius spectrum, also called Tarsius tarsier ) is a species of tarsier found on the island of Selayar in Indonesia. It is apparently less specialized than the Philippine tarsier or Horsfield's tarsier; for example, it lacks adhesive toes. It is the type species for the genus Tarsius. While its range used to also include the population on nearby southwestern Sulawesi, this population has been reclassified as a separate ...
species, Tarsius fuscus. Some of the earlier research published on Tarsius spectrum refers to the taxon that was recently reclassified and elevated to a separate species, the Gursky's spectral tarsier (Tarsius spectrumgurskyae). Less

The Tonkean black macaque or Tonkean macaque (Macaca tonkeana ) is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to central Sulawesi and the nearby Togian Islands in Indonesia. It is threatened by habitat loss. Widespread mining in central Sulawesi is believed to exacerbating the problems of habitat loss.Tonkean Macaques are rather ape-like in appearance, and males are slightly larger than females. A handful of matriarchs ...
enforces a relatively fluid and lenient pecking order. Tonkean macaques take effort in maintaining harmony in the group and practice conflict resolution to a great degree. Despite being pacifists, matrilines remain rigid and unchanging, even if they're relaxed compared to other macaque species. However, this peacefulness does not extend to outside troops, and if two tonkean macaque troops cross paths, intense conflicts can arise. Less

The Celebes warty pig (Sus celebensis ), also called Sulawesi warty pig or Sulawesi pig, is a species in the pig genus (Sus ) that lives on Sulawesi in Indonesia. It survives in most habitats and can live in altitudes of up to 2,500 m (8,000 ft). It has been domesticated and introduced to a number of other islands in Indonesia. Less

The Sulawesi bear cuscus a.k.a Sulawesi bear phalanger (Ailurops ursinus ) is a species of arboreal marsupial in the family Phalangeridae endemic to Sulawesi and nearby islands in Indonesia. It lives in tropical moist lowland forest at elevations up to 600 m and is diurnal, folivorous and often found in pairs. A. ursinus is threatened by hunting, collection for the pet trade and deforestation. Less

The Sangihe white-eye (Zosterops nehrkorni ) is a species of bird in the white-eye family. It is endemic to Sangihe, Indonesia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.It was formerly considered conspecific with black-crowned white-eye (Zosterops atrifrons ), but work by Pamela C. Rasmussen and her colleagues showed that it is a separate species. The same research also confirmed the ...
specific status of the Seram white-eye, Zosterops stalkeri. Less

The cerulean flycatcher (Eutrichomyias rowleyi ) is a medium-sized (up to 18 cm long), blue passerine with bright cerulean blue plumage, a bare white orbital ring, dark brown iris, bluish black bill and pale blue-grey below. The young has a shorter tail and grey underparts. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Eutrichomyias. Although it resembles a monarch flycatcher, it is actually related to the fantails. Less

The Sangihe whistler or Sangihe shrikethrush (Coracornis sanghirensis ) is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Sangihe Island in Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. Originally, the Sangihe shrikethrush was described in the genus Pinarolestes. It was re-classified from the genus Colluricincla to Coracornis in 2013. Alternate names include ...
the Sahengbalira shrike-thrush and Sangir whistler. Less

The black-crowned white-eye (Zosterops atrifrons ) is a songbird species. It is closely related to the Old World babblers, and its family Zosteropidae might better be included in the Tiimalidae. Its subspecies from the Sulawesi region might warrant recognition as distinct species Z. subatrifrons. The Sangihe white-eye (Z. nehrkorni ) and the Seram white-eye (Z. stalkeri ) were formerly included in Z. atrifrons, as is still, on occasion, the ...
black-fronted white-eye (Z. minor ).It is endemic to Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Quite common, it is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN. Less

Limnonectes arathooni is a species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae. It is endemic to southwestern Sulawesi, Indonesia.This frog is only known from two mountains on the island of Sulawesi. It lives in undisturbed forest habitat near rivers. The female lays eggs on the ground and the male guards them. The larvae emerge, slide downhill, and enter the rivers. The species is threatened by the loss of its riverside forest habitat to agriculture. Less

The Sulawesian toad or Celebes toad (Ingerophrynus celebensis ) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia.It is a common and abundant species found in a wide range of habitats, including primary rainforest, secondary forest, plantations, cultivated land and towns. Breeding takes place in ponds, paddy fields, and pools within slow-moving streams. Less

The Sulawesi palm civet (Macrogalidia musschenbroekii ), also known as Sulawesi civet, musang and brown palm civet is a little-known palm civet endemic to Sulawesi. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to population decline estimated to have been more than 30% over the last three generations (suspected to be 15 years) inferred from habitat destruction and degradation.Macrogalidia is a monospecific genus. It is the only carnivoran ...
native to Sulawesi. Less

The Moor macaque (Macaca maura ) is a macaque monkey with brown/black body fur with a pale rump patch and pink bare skin on the rump. It has ischial callosities, which are oval-shaped. It is about 50–58.5 cm long, and eats figs, bamboo seeds, buds, sprouts, invertebrates and cereals in tropical rainforests. It is sometimes called "dog-ape" because of its dog-like muzzle, although it is no more closely related to apes than any other Old World mo ...
nkey is. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, which is an important biodiversity hotspot.The Moor macaque is threatened mostly due to habitat loss from an expanding human population and deforestation to increase agricultural land area. The Macaca maura population is estimated to have decreased from 56,000 in 1983 to under 10,000 in 1994. In 1992, Supriatna et al. 1992 conducted an extensive survey and found 6.3–63.2 individuals/km2. They usually live in groups of 15-40 individuals, with female philopatry and male dispersal and they are diurnal and semi-terrestrial. They spend a lot of their time in trees foraging and on the ground travelling.According to the Behavioural Data collection done on 2 groups of Moor macaques in the Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park in South Sulawesi, this species spends most of their time feeding in places where food resources are abundant. The results also show that Moor macaques tend to spend more time foraging as the group size increases as they spend less time in alertness.The population of this species is highly endangered due to serious anthropogenic activities like agriculture and tourism, which contribute to its habitat loss. This species has been on the IUCN Red list of threatened species (A2cd) since 2015. Adequate conservation plans are being carried on through different studies in order to save the undomesticated Moor macaques. Less

The Heck's macaque (Macaca hecki ) is a macaque of Sulawesi, Indonesia. This Old World monkey is diurnal.It feeds on fruits. Less

The booted macaque (Macaca ochreata ) is a macaque of the Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. This Old World monkey is diurnal and spends most of the day in the trees. It is 50–59 cm long plus a tail of 35–40 cm.The booted macaque feeds on figs, buds, invertebrates and cereals.Two subspecies are recognized:M. o. ochreata Muna-Buton macaque, M. o. brunnescens Outside their native Indonesia booted macaques are found only at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Z ...
oo in Thurmont, Maryland. A family of booted macaques has resided there since the 1960s, and they are already into their fourth generation in captivity. Less

Dian's tarsier (Tarsius dentatus ), also known as the Diana tarsier, is a nocturnal primate endemic to central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its head-body length is 11.5–12 centimetres (4.5–4.7 in) and it has a tail of 22 centimetres (8.7 in). Dian's tarsier lives in rainforests. It was formerly called T. dianae, but that has been shown to be a junior synonym.It is highly adapted to vertical clinging and leaping, like other tarsiers, and has a strict live ...
animal diet, consisting mostly of insects. Due to human intervention in the forest of South-east Asia, Dian's tarsier tends to adapt its ranging behavior based on the degree of human intervention. Slightly disturbed habitats have been shown to have little effect on the Dian's tarsier, but with larger disturbances, the habitat is less suitable.First claimed as a new species by Miller and Hollister in 1921. Less

The hog-nosed shrew rat or Sulawesi snouter (Hyorhinomys stuempkei ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, more specifically in the subfamily Murinae, endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia. This species was discovered in 2015 by Jacob A. Esselstyn and his team, Anang S. Achmadi, Heru Handika, and Kevin C. Rowe", Esselstyn proposed "Sulawesi snouter" as a common name for it. The word "snouter" references the fictional text, The Snouters: Form ...
and Life of the Rhinogrades by the German zoologist Gerolf Steiner. Steiner wrote this text as a fictional naturalist, Harald Stümpke, and the specific epithet of H. stuempkei pays homage to this fictional individual.It is known only from Mount Dako in Tolitoli Regency, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.The species has particularly long incisors. Unusually, it lacks the coronoid process jaw muscle attachment point, presumably because its diet of earthworms and beetle larvae does not require forceful chewing.Its morphological distinctions from other shrew rats, along with phylogenetic analysis, led to it being placed in the new genus Hyorhinomys as the only species. Less

The Gorontalo macaque or Dumoga-bone macaque (Macaca nigrescens ) is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Less

Gursky's spectral tarsier (Tarsius spectrumgurskyae ) is a species of tarsier found in the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. A recent taxonomic revision split this species off from the spectral tarsier and other tarsier species based on difference in vocalisations and pelage. These tarsiers, like other species of primates, are able to communicate with other individuals of the same species through flexible call patterns, in which they output ...
different note patterns based on their duet partner's calls. Less

The Lariang tarsier (Tarsius lariang ) is a recently described tarsier occurring in the western part of the central core of Sulawesi. Six museum specimens of this species are known, two of which have been misidentified as the pygmy tarsier before their correct identity came out. This species has been named after the Lariang River, an important river in the part of Sulawesi where this species occurs.This species has darker fur than the other ...
Sulawesi tarsiers. The dorsal fur is greyish brown. The blackish tail ends in a dark pencil-like point. There is a clearly discernible dark ring around the eyes. The third digit on the hands is very long. It is the second-largest tarsier; only the Sangihe tarsier is larger; published body weights are 67 to 117 g. Less

The Makassar tarsier (Tarsius fuscus ) is a species of tarsier. Its range is in Indonesia in the southwestern peninsula of the island of 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. Less

The Peleng tarsier (Tarsius pelengensis ), or the Peleng Island tarsier, is a nocturnal primate found on the island of Peleng, just east of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Less

Wallace's tarsier, Tarsius wallacei is a species of Sulawesi tarsier (all tarsiers from the genus tarsius are from Sulawesi and its surrounding islands). It is found in the forests of what is referred to geologically as the neck of Sulawesi where there are two separate populations. It is a small brown arboreal primate of the infraorder Tarsiiformes less than 15 cm (6 in) long. Less

The Jatna’s tarsier (Tarsius supriatnai ) is a species of tarsier found in Indonesia. Their call, or "songs" are known to be different from other similar tarsier species. The Jatna's tarsier has giant eyes and ears, and they also can rotate their heads like owls. This skill helps them locate predators and prey in the dark. They can also jump like 40 times their body length. This species of tarsiers was named after Dr. Jatna Supriatna because in h ...
is professional life, he has spent most of the time talking about the biodiversity in Indonesia and did a lot of work on tarsiers. Less

The red-bellied squirrel or Sulawesi giant squirrel (Rubrisciurus rubriventer ) is a species of squirrel. Until recently, it was described as a species in the genus Callosciurus, but since the 1990s it is generally placed in its own genus Rubrisciurus. It is endemic on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where it is widespread. It has also been found on Sangir Island to the north of Sulawesi. With a length of 25 cm (head and body), it is rather ...
large for a squirrel. It lives in the tree tops of the rainforests of the island. Less

The Sulawesi white-handed shrew or Temboan shrew (Crocidura rhoditis ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is a fairly common species and the population seems stable so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". Less

The Wallace's or Sulawesi stripe-faced fruit bat (Styloctenium wallacei ) is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Sulawesi and the nearby Togian Islands of Indonesia. Cave paintings resembling these bats have been found in Australia, where bats of this kind are not otherwise known. Less

The yellow-tailed rat (Rattus xanthurus ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in northeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Less

The Sulawesi tiny shrew (Crocidura levicula ) is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Less

The Muna-Buton macaque (Macaca ochreata brunnescens ) is one of seven Sulawesi macaques in Indonesia. It is only found on two small islands off the south-east coast: the islands of Buton and Muna. This Old World monkey is diurnal and arboreal, although it can spend significant amounts of time on the ground. It is black with grey "boots" and a brownish colour to the fur on its back. Like other Sulawesi macaques, it has a reduced tail of only ...
about 35mm in length. Its body is about 475 - 495mm in length.The Muna-Buton macaque feeds on fruits for over 60% of its diet, including figs and pandanus fruits. It also feeds on leaves, insects, flowers, and bark. It is a very successful crop-raider, and if there are agricultural fields nearby, it will spend up to 2 hours at a time raiding farmers crops, such as sweet potato, maize, papaya, and banana. Less

The Celebes dwarf squirrel (Prosciurillus murinus ) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to northeast and central Sulawesi, Indonesia, and is also found on nearby islands including Sangir Island. Less

The heavenly hill rat (Bunomys coelestis ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in southwestern Sulawesi, Indonesia, where it has only been found on Mount Lompobatang. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. Less

Gracilimus radix, the Sulawesi root rat, is a species of rat in the family Muridae. It is a monotypic species, as it the only member of the genus Gracilimus. It is only known from the Mamasa Regency in Sulawesi, Indonesia, where it is endemic to the slopes of Mt. Gandangdewata in the Quarles Range, where it is found at an elevation of about 1600 m. The closest relative of the slender rat is the Sulawesi water rat (Waiomys mamasae ), and both ...
belong in a clade of insectivorous rodents endemic to Sulawesi. The slender rat can be physically distinguished from other species by its slender body, soft gray-brown fur, small rounded ears, and long, sparsely-haired tail. Unlike most other genera of Sulawesi rats, the slender rat feeds on both plant and animal matter, which may be a possible example of evolutionary reversal. Less

The montane long-nosed squirrel (Hyosciurus heinrichi ) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland. It was discovered during a 1930 expedition led by Gerd Heinrich. Less

The whitish dwarf squirrel (Prosciurillus leucomus ) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found on Sulawesi, Buton Island, Muna Island, Kabeana Island, and adjacent islands to the southeast of Sulawesi. Less

The long-headed hill rat (Bunomys prolatus ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Sulawesi, Indonesia, where it is only known from Mount Tambusisi.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.It is threatened by habitat loss. Less

The inland hill rat (Bunomys penitus ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in central and southern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Less

The Sulawesi broad-eared horseshoe bat or Tatar horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus tatar ) is a species of horseshoe bat found in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Less

The Sulawesi yellow bat (Scotophilus celebensis ) is a species of vesper bat. It is found only in Indonesia. Less

The secretive dwarf squirrel (Prosciurillus abstrusus ) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia, where it is found on the Mengkoka Mountains in southeastern Sulawesi. Its natural habitat is montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. Less

The fraternal hill rat (Bunomys fratrorum ) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in northeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia.Its natural habitat is tropical dry forest.It is threatened by habitat loss. Less