the.com/tarsier
a pocket-sized primate whose eyes are bigger than its brain, no exaggeration.
means A tiny nocturnal primate native to Southeast Asian islands, known for its enormous fixed eyes, elongated hind ankle bones, and a diet of insects and small prey caught by leaping.
from From the French 'tarsier,' built on the Latin 'tarsus' (the ankle) — itself borrowed from Greek 'tarsos,' the flat of the foot. The name points to the creature's wildly elongated tarsal bones, the lever that powers its astonishing jumps. So this animal is literally named 'the ankle one.'
- eye size
- each eyeball weighs more than its brain
- head turn
- rotates skull 180 degrees, owl-style
- pure carnivore
- only primate eating zero plants, ever
- ultrasonic screams
- communicates in pitches humans can't hear
- jumping power
- leaps 40 times its body length
philippine tarsier — smallest primate at 117-137g, found only in philippines
spectral tarsier — species endemic to sulawesi, indonesia, named for ghost-like appearance
western tarsier — native to brunei and malaysian borneo, nocturnal insectivore