Lorisidae
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| Missing image Slender_loris.jpg Slender loris (Loris tardigradus) Slender loris (Loris tardigradus) | ||||||||||
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Lorisidae (or sometimes Loridae) is a family of strepsirrhine primates. The lorids are all slim arboreal animals and are the lorises, pottos and angwantibos.
Lorises live in tropical, central Africa as well as in south and southeast Asia.
Lorises have a close, woolly fur which is usually grey or brown colored, darker on the top side. The eyes are large, which are typical for diurnal animals, and face forward. The ears are small and often partly hidden in the fur. The thumbs are opposable and the index finger is short. The second toe of the hind legs they have the fine claw typical for strepsirrhines. Their tails are short or are missing completely. They grow to a length of 17 to 40 cm and a weight of between 0.3 and 2kg, depending on the species.
Lorises are diurnal and arboreal. Unlike the closely related galagos, they have slow, deliberate movements and never jump. With their strong hands they clasp at the branches and cannot be removed without significant force. Most Lorises are solitary or live in small family groups.
The main diet of most lorises consists of insects, but they also consume bird eggs and small vertebrates as well as fruits and sap.
Lorises have a gestation period of four to six months and give birth to two young. These often clasp themselves to the belly of the mother or wait in nests, while the mother goes to search for food. After three to nine months - depending upon species - they are weaned and are fully mature within ten to eighteen months. The life expectancy of the lorises can be to up to 20 years.
Classification
- ORDER PRIMATES
- Suborder Strepsirrhini: non-tarsier prosimians
- Family Lemuridae: lemurs
- Family Lepilemuridae: sportive lemurs
- Family Cheirogaleidae: dwarf and mouse lemurs
- Family Indridae: woolly lemurs and allies
- Family Daubentoniidae: Aye-aye
- Family Lorisidae
- Subfamily Perodicticinae
- Genus Arctocebus
- Calabar Angwantibo, Arctocebus calabarensis
- Golden Angwantibo, Arctocebus aureus
- Genus Perodicticus
- Potto, Perodicticus potto
- Genus Pseudopotto
- False Potto, Pseudopotto martini
- Genus Arctocebus
- Subfamily Lorinae
- Genus Loris
- Red Slender Loris, Loris tardigradus
- Gray Slender Loris, Loris lydekkerianus
- Genus Nycticebus
- Sunda Loris, Nycticebus coucang
- Bengal Slow Loris, Nycticebus bengalensis
- Pygmy Slow Loris, Nycticebus pygmaeus
- Genus Loris
- Subfamily Perodicticinae
- Family Galagidae: galagos
- Suborder Haplorrhini: tarsiers, monkeys and apes
- Suborder Strepsirrhini: non-tarsier prosimians