Abstract
A most conspicuous vocal behavior of Sulawesi tarsiers is the loud calls that males and females coordinate into duets. Differences in the acoustic structure of this display relate to specific differentiation in Tarsius spectrum and T. dianae. More recent studies on dueting behavior indicated the existence of a new species of tarsiers on the Togian Islands in Tomini Bay. I analyzed the duet calls of the Togian tarsier to assess the differences in acoustic structure of duet calls between this putative new species and T. spectrum or T. dianae. Discriminant function analysis revealed that Togian tarsiers, T. spectrum and T. dianae, are clearly separated by acoustic characteristics in songs. The degree of separation of the Togian tarsiers from the mainland species support them being a distinct species.
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Nietsch, A. Duet Vocalizations among Different Populations of Sulawesi Tarsiers. International Journal of Primatology 20, 567–583 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020342807709
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020342807709