Tarsiiformes

For an explanation of very similar terms, see Omomyiformes.

Tarsiiformes Temporal range: 56–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Paleocene to Recent
Carlito syrichta
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Haplorhini
Infraorder:	Tarsiiformes Gregory, 1915[1]
Families
See text sister: Simiiformes
Synonyms
†Omomyiformes (cladistically including the Tarsiidae[2])

Tarsiiformes /ˈtɑːrsi.ɪfɔːrmiːz/ are a group of primates that once ranged across Europe, northern Africa, Asia, and North America, but whose extant species are all found in the islands of Southeast Asia. Tarsiers (family Tarsiidae) are the only living members of the infraorder; other members of Tarsiidae include the extinct Tarsius eocaenus from the Eocene,^[3] and Tarsius thailandicus from the Miocene.^[4] Two extinct genera, Xanthorhysis and Afrotarsius, are considered to be close relatives of the living tarsiers, and are generally classified within Tarsiiformes, with the former grouped within family Tarsiidae, and the latter listed as incertae sedis (undefined).^[3] Omomyids are generally considered to be extinct relatives, or even ancestors, of the living tarsiers, and are often classified within Tarsiiformes.

Other fossil primates, including Microchoeridae, Carpolestidae,^[5] and Eosimiidae,^[6] have been included in this classification, although the fossil evidence is debated. Eosimiidae has also been classified under the infraorder Simiiformes (with monkeys and apes), and most experts now consider Eosimiidae to be stem^{[clarification needed]} simians.^[7][8] Likewise, Carpolestidae is often classified within the order Plesiadapiformes, a very close, extinct relative of primates.^[9]

These conflicting classifications lie at the heart of the debate over early primate evolution. Even the placement of Tarsiiformes within suborder Haplorhini, as a sister group to the simians (monkeys and apes), is still debated.^[3][10]

Classification

Main article: List of tarsiiformes

Generally accepted members of this infraorder include the living tarsiers,^[1] the extinct omomyids, two extinct fossil genera, and two extinct fossil species within the genus Tarsius.^[3] As haplorhines, they are more closely related to monkeys and apes than to the strepsirrhine primates, which include lemurs, galagos, and lorises.

• Order Primates
  • Suborder Strepsirrhini: lemurs, lorises, and galagos
  • Suborder Haplorhini
    • Infraorder Simiiformes: monkeys and apes
    • Infraorder Tarsiiformes/Omomyiformes^{[N 1]}
      • †Archicebidae
      • Family Tarsiidae: tarsiers
        • Genus †Afrotarsius^{[N 2]}
        • Genus †Xanthorhysis
        • Genus Tarsius
        • Genus Cephalopachus
        • Genus Carlito^{[N 3]}

Footnotes

1. Other extinct taxa that are thought to belong to Tarsiiformes but are yet unranked include Ekgmowechashala, Kohatius, Altanius, and Altiatlasius.^[3]
2. Alternatively, this genus is sometimes listed in the family Afrotarsiidae within Tarsiiformes,^[5] or as a family within the infraorder Simiiformes.^[7]
3. In 2010, Colin Groves and Myron Shekelle suggested splitting the living tarsiers into three genera: Tarsius, Cephalopachus, and Carlito.^[11]

References

1. Groves, C. P. (2005). "Order Primates". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 111–184. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
2. Morse, Paul E.; Chester, Stephen G. B.; Boyer, Doug M.; Smith, Thierry; Smith, Richard; Gigase, Paul; Bloch, Jonathan I. (2019-03-01). "New fossils, systematics, and biogeography of the oldest known crown primate Teilhardina from the earliest Eocene of Asia, Europe, and North America". Journal of Human Evolution. 128: 103–131. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.08.005. ISSN 0047-2484. PMID 30497682. S2CID 54167483.
3. Gunnell, G.; Rose, K. (2002). "Tarsiiformes: Evolutionary History and Adaptation". In Hartwig, W.C. (ed.). The Primate Fossil Record. Cambridge University Press. Bibcode:2002prfr.book.....H. ISBN 978-0-521-66315-1.
4. Nowak, R.M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World (6th ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 94–97. ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8.
5. McKenna, M.C., and Bell, S.K. 1997. Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press, New York, 337–340 pp. ISBN 0-231-11013-8
6. Simons, E.L. (2003). "The Fossil Record of Tarsier Evolution". In Wright, P.C.; Simons, E.L.; Gursky, S. (eds.). Tarsiers: past, present, and future. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-3236-3.
7. Beard, C. (2002). "Basal Anthropoids". In Hartwig, W.C. (ed.). The Primate Fossil Record. Cambridge University Press. Bibcode:2002prfr.book.....H. ISBN 978-0-521-66315-1.
8. Williams, Blythe A; Kay, Richard F; Kirk, E Christopher (January 2010). Walker, Alan (ed.). "New perspectives on anthropoid origins". PNAS. 107 (11): 4797–4804. Bibcode:2010PNAS..107.4797W. doi:10.1073/pnas.0908320107. PMC 2841917. PMID 20212104.
9. Fleagle, J. G. 2013. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. San Diego, Academic Press.
10. Ankel-Simons, F. (2007). Primate Anatomy (3rd ed.). Academic Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-12-372576-9.
11. Groves, C.; Shekelle, M. (2010). "The Genera and Species of Tarsiidae". International Journal of Primatology. 31 (6): 1071–1082. doi:10.1007/s10764-010-9443-1. S2CID 21220811.