Spectral tarsiers are small primates. Their fur is soft and ranges from gray to buff-gray in color. These animals have long tails with tufts closer to the end of the tail. They have long, slender hands, feet, and digits. Their hands are adapted for clinging and gripping. Spectral tarsiers have very big eyes and in fact, their eyes are larger than their brain. The ears of these small animals are thin and membranous and can move independently.
Spectral tarsiers are found on the island of Selayar in Indonesia. They live in primary and secondary rainforests, mangrove forests, forest gardens, and in other habitats with shrubby cover.
Spectral tarsiers are nocturnal being active during the night. At this time they travel around until they find a feeding place. They may frequently stop to groom themselves. To locate their prey tarsiers use their independently moving ears. They are excellent climbers and leapers. In the morning when these small animals return to their sleeping sites, they "sing" either as a duet with their mate or in a family chorus. These songs serve as a signal to neighboring groups living around. Spectral tarsiers are very territorial and may fight with neighboring groups that come into their boundaries. They mark their territories with urine and scents from glands. These small animals live in pairs or small family groups. They spend all of their time resting and socializing by playing, snuggling, allogrooming, and food sharing. In order to communicate with each other Spectral tarsiers use trills and twitters, alarm calls, duet songs, and family choruses.
Spectral tarsiers are carnivores (insectivores). The feed mainly on moths, locusts, beetles and cicadas. They may occasionally consume small vertebrates, such as lizards or bats.
Spectral tarsiers are monogamous and have only one partner. However, they may be polygynous where males mate with multiple females. The breeding season usually occurs in May-November. The gestation period lasts around 6 months. Females give birth to a single infant, which is born fully furred and with its eyes open. Newborns can climb one day after birth. Mothers nurse their infants around 80 days and carry them in their mouths during the first 3 weeks. When the mother is foraging she usually parks her baby on a tree branch near foraging place. Young become independent after weaning and begin hunting on their own. Both males and females in this species become reproductively mature at 17 months of age.
Main threats to Spectral tarsiers are the loss of their habitat for agriculture, mining, illegal logging, and agricultural pesticides. In some areas of their range, these animals also suffer from pet trade.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Spectral tarsier total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
As insectivores, Spectral tarsiers play an important role in their environment controling populations of the insect community and having an impact on local food webs.
