Reported June 2009

WHAT IS A PYGMY TARSIER? It's a small, nocturnal primate found in Indonesia. Until recently, they were thought to be extinct. Then living specimens were found in August 2008 by a research team. They are about four inches long and weigh fewer than two ounces. They spend most of their time in trees and are primarily insectivores.

WHAT IS EXTINCTION: Animals are all classified by biologists into separate species as well as bigger groups of classifications, such as a genus or family. When no more individuals of a species can be found anywhere on earth, the species is considered extinct. Many animals have been classified as on the endangered species list because their populations are close to becoming extinct. If one animal relies on another for its food or protection, it can become part of the extinction chain. Possibly the most famous extinction happened at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 65 million years ago, when most of the species on Earth were wiped out by a large asteroid's impact with the Earth. That was when all the non-bird-like dinosaurs went extinct.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Sharon Gursky-Doyen
Physical Anthropologist
(979) 862-8462
gursky@tamu.edu

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