Tarsier

Tarsiers are prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius, a monotypic
genus in the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family
within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. The phylogenetic position of extant
tarsiers within the order Primates has been debated for much of the past
century, and tarsiers have alternately been classified with
strepsirrhine primates in the suborder Prosimii, or as the sister group
to the simians (=Anthropoidea) in the infraorder Haplorrhini. Analysis
of SINE insertions, a type of macromutation to the DNA, is argued to
offer very persuasive evidence for the monophyly of Haplorrhini, where
other lines of evidence, such as DNA sequence data, had remained
ambiguous. Thus, some systematists argue that the debate is conclusively
settled in favor of a monophyletic Haplorrhini.
Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have
extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name. They
are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They
are also known to prey on birds and snakes. As they jump from tree to
tree, tarsiers can catch even birds in motion.[citation needed]
Gestation takes about six months, and tarsiers give birth to single
offspring. All tarsier species are nocturnal in their habits, but like
many nocturnal organisms some individuals may show more or less activity
during the daytime. Unlike many nocturnal animals, however, tarsiers
lack a light-reflecting area (tapetum lucidum) of the eye. They also
have a fovea, atypical for nocturnal animals