Name two new tarsier species!

My team just published a paper describing the discovery of TWO new species of tarsiers.  Each new species we discover, name, and describe helps conserve critically important habitat, and this helps conserve BIODIVERSITY.  See Groves et al. 2017, Conservation Genetics, to see how this works.  

Tarsiers are tiny nocturnal primates that bear an uncanny resemblance to the Star Wars character, Yoda.  They are cute, fascinating, and unique in more ways than I will describe here.  You can find more information on my website: www.tarsier.org.


There are TWO more new species we have already discovered, which are waiting the formal scientific process of description and naming.  This requires time and money.  In 2008, my team discovered, named, and described a Critically Endangered species of tarsier from Siau Island.  Now, nearly ten years later, we described two more.  THIS IS TOO SLOW.  We must move faster if we are to preserve tropical forests and the rich biodiversity they support.  Read what I wrote then:

"The bleak situation indicates that some primate species in Sulawesi may go extinct before they have even been identified, leaving scientists with unpleasant and controversial choices for taxonomy and conservation. We foresee increased criticism and controversy down either path: either publishing new species at an increased pace with the heightened chance of error, or not doing so at the risk that primate species are driven to extinction before they have been recognized and named."

My current support from National Geographic Society, for about $30,000, is almost fully spent.  To wait for another grant cycle takes about one year on average. The research takes another year.  Publication often takes a further year.  Without more funding, now, it could be three years or more to publish the two new species we have already discovered.  I am asking for funding to keep my team in the field NOW.  

I have more than 20 years experience conducting this sort of research in Indonesia.  My methods have developed over time to include training local scientists, teaching local teachers, and engaging local people in their own language.   More than 300 Indonesian high schools have been taught the value of the biodiveristy all around them by students who took my course, and who then became high school biology teachers.  This project, and these new species, will have tangible effects for conserving much more than just tarsiers.  They will help conserve biodiversity in one of the most biodiverse regions on earth.  

Each year I speak directly with hundreds of Indonesian university students, recruiting them into the field of wildlife biology and conservation.











Please consider being a part of this project to name two new tarsier species.  Here are some examples of what your money will do:
        -$10 supports one Indonesian student  in the field for one day
        -$100 keeps the education program running for one day
        -$1000 supports an entire student research project for an Indonesian undergraduate honors thesis, suitable for publication in a regional scientific journal
        -$3300 provides full tuition (covering all costs from airport to airport) for one foreign-based student and one Indonesian student for the entire field methods course.
        -$10,000 supports one entire field study for a graduate student, suitable for publication in an international journal
        -$35,000 fully funds our current effort to name two more new species we have already discovered

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        -$100,000 fully funds all operations at their current level for one year
        -$1,000,000 transforms tarsier science and conservation into a regional force for stemming biodiversity loss and mitigating global climate change
        -$10,000,000 fully funds virtually every important scientific and conservation initiative under consideration.

[contact us directly if you have the deep pockets to fund these larger objectives]