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| Tarsius niemitzi
Shekelle, Groves, Maryanto, Mittermeier, Salim & Springer, 2019
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Abstract
We describe and name a new species of tarsier from the Togean Islands, in Tomini Bay, bounded by the northern and eastern peninsulas of Sulawesi. In doing so, we highlight how 25 years of sustained research on the alpha taxonomy of Sulawesian tarsiers, Tarsius, have helped to identify key conservation priorities in the Sulawesian region of the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot.
Key words: Biodiversity, bioacoustics, cryptic species, duet call, Togean form, taxonomy, hotspots
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| Figure 2. Top right: Southeast Asia and Australia, with red box indicating contents of Top Left. Top left: Sulawesi, with red box indicating contents of bottom. Bottom: The Togean Islands in the U-shaped bay of Tomini, bordered in the north and west by the northern peninsula, and the south by the eastern peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Expected species distribution circled in red, approximate location of type locality marked with red X. |
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| Figure 1. Skulls of three type specimens (left to right), Tarsius supriatnai, T. spectrumgurskyae and Tarsius niemitzi. Photos by Myron Shekelle. |
Tarsius niemitzi sp. nov.
Description:
MORPHOLOGY:
Surveys of wild populations have indicated that body weight and tail length fall
within the range of a number of other Tarsius species, including T. tarsier, T. fuscus, T. dentatus, T. spectrumgurskyae, and
T. supriatnai. Body weights and tail lengths may well overlap with all species of Tarsius, except T. pumilus and possibly some offshore taxa, such as T. sangirensis. Body weight:
female 104−110 g (n = 2); male 125−138 g (n = 3). Tail
length: female = 245−261 mm (n = 2); male 246−258 mm (n
= 3) (data from Shekelle 2003). Tarsius niemitzi is similar to T.
dentatus in having darkly pigmented skin, particularly the tail,
and relatively dark pelage with dark gray facial fur, particularly in adults (Fig. 3). Atypical for tarsier species endemic to
small islands, T. niemitzi does not have a reduced tail tuft (see
Shekelle et al. 2008b).
VOCALIZATIONS: Spectrograms of
the Togean form were published by Nietsch and Kopp (1998)
(Fig. 4). ....
Diagnosis: The duet call, and the species provenance and genetics are diagnostic.
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| Figure 3. Niemitz’s tarsier Tarsius niemitzi sp. n. from Malenge Island, Sulawesi.
Photo by Myron Shekelle,
illustration by Stephen D. Nash.
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Distribution: Togean Islands, except for Una Una (Fig. 2).
Etymology: Niemitz’s tarsier. This species is named in honor of Dr. Carsten Niemitz, universally regarded as the father of tarsier field biology. Although his field work was preceded by that of Fogden (1974), it was Niemitz who first dedicated a substantial part of his career to the systematic study of wild tarsiers. Niemitz and his student, Alexandra Nietsch, surveyed tarsiers in Central Sulawesi. Subsequently, reportedly acting on a tip from an Indonesian government official, Rolex Lameanda, Nietsch traveled to the Togean Islands to survey tarsiers there and, with Niemitz, was the first to report their presence and the likelihood of their taxonomic distinctiveness (Nietsch and Niemitz 1993). We have found no evidence that Tarsius togeanus (as per Surjadi and Supriatna 1998, p.281; Ito et al. 2008, p.234) and T. togianensis (as per Gursky 2007, p.5) are names arising from formal descriptions, and they are as such nomina nuda.
Local Name: Bunsing, tangkasi, podi.
Myron Shekelle, Colin P. Groves, Ibnu Maryanto, Russell A. Mittermeier, Agus Salim and Mark S. Springer. 2019. A New Tarsier Species from the Togean Islands of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, with References to Wallacea and Conservation on Sulawesi. Primate Conservation. (33):
For Indonesia’s newest tarsier, a debut a quarter century in the making news.mongabay.com/2019/10/tarsier-niemitz-indonesia-sulawesi-species-biodiversity/ via @Mongabay
