Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Black Leaf Monkey ( Monyet Hitam )



The Celebes Crested Macaque (Macaca nigra), also known as the Crested Black Macaque, Sulawesi Crested Macaque, or the Black "Ape", is an Old World monkey that lives in the northeast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (Celebes) as well as on smaller neighboring islands.

Its skin and hairless face is, with the exception of some white hair in the shoulder range, entirely jet black. The long muzzle with high cheeks and the long hair tuft, or crest, at the top side of the head are remarkable. The tail is only approximately 2 cm of stub. With a total body length of 45 to 60 cm and a weight of 7 to 10 kg, it is one of the smaller macaque species.
he Celebes Crested Macaque is a diurnal rain forest dweller. This macaque is primarily terrestrial, spending more than 60% of its day on the ground foraging for food and socializing, while sleeping and searching for food in the trees.

It lives in groups of 5 to 25 animals. Smaller groups have only a single male, while larger groups have up to four males. The females, however, always outnumber the males by about 4:1. Since young males must leave their birth group upon maturity, they sometimes form bachelor groups before they look for a connection to an existing mixed group. Communication consists of various sounds and gestures; such as the presentation of the long eyeteeth while grimacing a clear threatening gesture.

The Celebes Crested Macaque is frugivorous, with 70% of its diet consisting of fruits. It also consumes leaves, buds, seeds, fungus, birds and bird eggs, insects (such as caterpillars), and the occasional small lizard or frog.

The Celebes Crested Macaque is promiscuous, with both males and females mating multiple times with multiple partners. The receptivity of the females is clearly indicated by a tumescence (swelling) and redness which, in contrast to the black skin color, is particularly remarkable. The gestation time is 174 days, and the birth of the usually single offspring happens in the spring when food is more plentiful. Young animals are nursed approximately one year and become fully mature in 3 to 4 years, females somewhat sooner than males. Its life expectancy is estimated at approximately 20 years.

Because it devastates crops and fields, the Celebes Crested Macaque is hunted as a pest. It is also hunted to provide bushmeat. Clearing the rain forests further threatens its survival. Its situation on the small neighbouring islands of Sulawesi (such as Bacan) is somewhat better, since these have a low human population. The total population of the macaque on Sulawesi is estimated at 4,000-6,000, while a booming population of up to 100,000 monkeys is found on Bacan.
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tarsiers (Kukang Mini)


The tarsier is an extraordinary animal. Relative to weight, the tarsier has the largest eyes of all the mammals.
Fossil relatives of the tarsier have been found in Europe, North America and Africa. Now, they live only on some of the islands of Southeast Asia - the south of the Philippines, Borneo, Sumatra and some of the other Indonesian islands. They have not survived well in captivity or as pets.

The tarsiers, unlike any other primates, completely refuse to eat any plant matter whatsoever. They eat mostly insects but sometimes enjoy birds, crabs, snakes, bats, etc, as long as it is something they can grab and eat its little head, crickets and grasshoppers for example. They may be eaten themselves by snakes, lizards, owls, and other birds of prey. Being nocturnal helps them avoid some predators in the dark night. If a tarsier is attacked by a predator, all of the tarsiers nearby may swarm and attack the predator

Tarsiers do like to sing with a high-pitch voice and in some species the males and females perform duets together. Different species of tarsier have different songs and singing styles and that is one way scientists can differentiate between the species.

The tarsier's flexible neck allows its head to swivel around 180 degrees to help it scan for prey or predator.
tarsier legsSee those legs? The tarsier is an amazing jumper able to jump more than 40 times it's own body length. The hind legs can be twice the head and body length. They like to jump and cling to trees.

The tarsier has such large eyes because it is a nocturnal hunter and the large eyes help maximize the available light.

The tarsier's fur is grey, gold, ochre, sand-colored or a mix of these colors and very soft.

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. Although the group was once more widespread, all the species living today are found in the islands of Southeast Asia.
Fossils of tarsiers and tarsiiform primates are found in Asia, Europe, and North America, and there are disputed fossils from Africa, but extant tarsiers are restricted to several Southeast Asian islands including the Philippines, Sulawesi, Borneo, and Sumatra. They also have the longest continuous fossil record of any primate genus,[citation needed] and the fossil record indicates that their dentition has not changed much, except in size, in the past 45 million years.
tarsius face
tarsius big eyes
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