Tarsiiformes 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, and also include the extinct
Tarsius eocaenus from the
Eocene and
Tarsius thailandicus from the
Miocene. 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).
Omomyids are generally considered to be extinct relatives, or even ancestors, of the living tarsiers and are often classified within Tarsiiformes. Other
fossil primates, which include Microchoeridae,
Carpolestidae, and
Eosimiidae, 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). Likewise, Carpolestidae is often classified within the order
Plesiadapiformes, a very close, extinct relative of primates. These conflicting classifications lie at the heart of the debate over early primate evolution. Even the placement of Tarsiiformes within suborder
Haplorhini (with the
monkeys and
apes") is still debated.