Gursky's Spectral Tarsier

About this species

Range

Sulawesi, Indonesia

Gursky’s spectral tarsier, locally called wusing, is a Sulawesi primate now recognised as Tarsius spectrumgurskyae. It was separated from the broadly defined spectral tarsier during a taxonomic revision that compared vocalisations and pelage. That basis for recognition makes calls especially important when identifying populations that may look broadly similar. The sources opened do not provide dependable measurements, diet or reproductive figures for this newly delimited species, so values from other tarsiers have not been transferred to it (Wikipedia, general species account; Mammal Diversity Database).

Research summarised in the species account shows that these tarsiers do not merely repeat a fixed duet. Individuals alter the pattern of notes they produce according to the calls of their duet partner, demonstrating flexible acoustic interaction between members of the species. The account places Gursky’s spectral tarsier on Sulawesi, and the Mammal Diversity Database records it only from Indonesia. More detailed ecological claims require sources that explicitly treat this recently separated taxon rather than the older, more inclusive spectral-tarsier concept (Wikipedia, general species account; Mammal Diversity Database).

Description: Wildlife of sulawesi guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)