Clue Watch: The Tarsier Monkey

The tarsier is one of the smallest primates in the world and is mainly found in the Philippines and Indonesia. Its huge eyes are its most distinguishing characteristic, although it has a few other cool things to know about it: it has a tail longer than its body, its third finger is as long as its arm and stuff like that. Jeopardy! clues about the tarsier have mainly dealt with its order and its eyes.

01/12/2012 PIC THE CRITTER $1200: Ferdinand Marcos would have known the animal seen here is known as this country’s tarsier; here’s looking at you
01/14/2008 “TAR” FOR THE COURSE $1600: Asian prosimian seen here
10/16/2007 FISH, BIRD OR MAMMAL $400: The tarsier
05/08/2003 THIS PLACE IS A ZOO! $800: The tarsier, the pygmy marmoset & the baboon all belong to this order of mammals
06/17/1998 MAMMALS $300: Pottos & tarsiers are closely related to these small primates from Madagascar
10/07/1996 MAMMALS $400: The western tarsier can hardly move these within their orbits, but it can rotate its head 360°
05/23/1994 NATURE $200: To aid its nocturnal habits, these facial features on a tarsier are each as big as its brain
09/30/1985 PRIMATES $400: At 3 times proportional size of any other primate the tarsier has a colossal pair of these

Mental Floss has a list of the 9 smallest primates complete with images (that and the video is why we didn’t link the “seen here” clues for the tarsier). Here is the last time that the other 8 were seen on the Jeopardy! board:

1. Potto – seen once in the 6/17/1998 clue listed above with the tarsier
2. Galago (bush baby) 6/2/2014
3. Lemur 10/30/2015
4. Slender Loris – none
5. Slow Loris – none
6. Aye-aye 1/12/2012
7. Tarsier – 1/12/2012
8. Marmoset 12/16/2013
9. Berthe’s Mouse Lemur (2/17/2015)

The potto would seem to be the one that is most DUE FOR A CLUE but, if we were taking bets, we’re pretty sure the lemur and the tarsier will show up on the Jeopardy! board again before the potto. He may never make another appearance.

Alas, poor loris, slender or slow, it appears that the cluewriters don’t expect anyone to know about you.

UPDATE: Almost a year later, the tarsier finally came up in a clue
10/3/2016 WHO ORDERED THE MAMMAL ($400) Lemurs & tarsiers are members of this order of mammals, just like us