Any of several small insectivorous primates of the genus Tarsius of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, being nocturnal and arboreal and having extremely large round eyes, a long tail, and long digits with nails except for the second and third toes, which have claws.
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Any of a family (Tarsiidae) of small arboreal primates of the East Indies and the Philippines, with very large, gogglelike eyes, and a long, tufted tail: tarsiers are active at night and feed esp. on lizards and insects.
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An insectivorousprimate of the Tarsiidae family, having very large eyes and long feet, native mainly to several islands of Southeast Asia.
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Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
tarsier
Plural:
tarsiers
Origin of tarsier
French fromtarsetarsus (from its elongated ankles)from New Latin tarsustarsus
From
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Tarsier Sentence Examples
The tarsier feeds chiefly on insects and lizards, sleeps during the day, but is tolerably active at night, moving chiefly by jumping from place to place; an action for which the structure of its hind-legs seems particularly well adapted.
The name tarsier refers to the great elongation of two of the bones of the tarsus, or ankle, and spectrum to the huge goggle-like eyes and attenuated form which constitute two of the most distinctive features of this weird little creature.
Rather smaller than a squirrel, with dusky brown fur, the tarsier has immense eyes, large ears, a long thin tail, tufted at the end, a greatly elongated tarsal portion of the foot, and disk-like adhesive surfaces on the fingers, which doubtless assist the animal in maintaining its position on the boughs.
Combine a guided trip with a hunt for spectral tarsier at dusk for value for money.