Loris
Encyclopedia
Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine primate
s of the subfamily Lorisinae in family Lorisidae
. Loris is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender loris
es, while Nycticebus is the genus for the slow loris
es.
Lorises are nocturnal. They are found in tropical and woodland forests of India
, Sri Lanka
, and southeast Asia
. Loris locomotion is a slow and cautious climbing form of quadrupedalism. Some lorises are almost entirely insectivorous, while others also include fruit
s, gum
s, leaves
, and slug
s in their diet.
Female lorises practice infant parking, leaving their young infants behind in nests. Before they do this they bathe their young with allergenic saliva
that is acquired by licking patches on the insides of their elbows that produce a mild toxin that discourages most predators, though orangutan
s occasionally eat lorises.
with the family Galagidae, the galago
s. This infraorder is a sister taxon of Lemuriformes, the lemur
s. Within Lorisinae, there are five species of lorises in two genera.
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
s of the subfamily Lorisinae in family Lorisidae
Lorisidae
Lorisidae is a family of strepsirrhine primates. The lorisids are all slim arboreal animals and include the lorises, pottos and angwantibos. Lorisids live in tropical, central Africa as well as in south and southeast Asia....
. Loris is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender loris
Slender loris
The slender lorises are two species of loris native to India and Sri Lanka, the only members of the genus Loris:* the red slender loris, Loris tardigradus* the gray slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus...
es, while Nycticebus is the genus for the slow loris
Slow loris
Slow lorises are a group of five species of strepsirrhine primates which make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in South and Southeast Asia, they range from Northeast India in the west to the Philippines in the east, and from the Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of Java in the south...
es.
Lorises are nocturnal. They are found in tropical and woodland forests of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, and southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. Loris locomotion is a slow and cautious climbing form of quadrupedalism. Some lorises are almost entirely insectivorous, while others also include fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s, gum
Natural gum
Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large viscosity increase in solution, even at small concentrations. In the food industry they are used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifying agents, and stabilizers...
s, leaves
Leaves
-History:Vocalist Arnar Gudjonsson was formerly the guitarist with Mower, and he was joined by Hallur Hallsson , Arnar Ólafsson , Bjarni Grímsson , and Andri Ásgrímsson . Late in 2001 they played with Emiliana Torrini and drew early praise from the New York Times...
, and slug
Slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
s in their diet.
Female lorises practice infant parking, leaving their young infants behind in nests. Before they do this they bathe their young with allergenic saliva
Saliva
Saliva , referred to in various contexts as spit, spittle, drivel, drool, or slobber, is the watery substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is a component of oral fluid. In mammals, saliva is produced in and secreted from the three pairs of major salivary glands,...
that is acquired by licking patches on the insides of their elbows that produce a mild toxin that discourages most predators, though orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
s occasionally eat lorises.
Taxonomic classification
The family Lorisidae is found within the infraorder LorisiformesLorisiformes
Lorisiformes are a group of primates found throughout Africa and Asia. Members of this infraorder include the galagos and the lorises. As strepsirrhines, they are related to the lemurs.* Order Primates** Suborder Strepsirrhini: non-tarsier prosimians...
with the family Galagidae, the galago
Galago
Galagos , also known as bushbabies, bush babies or nagapies , are small, nocturnal primates native to continental Africa, and make up the family Galagidae...
s. This infraorder is a sister taxon of Lemuriformes, the lemur
Lemur
Lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are named after the lemures of Roman mythology due to the ghostly vocalizations, reflective eyes, and the nocturnal habits of some species...
s. Within Lorisinae, there are five species of lorises in two genera.
- Family LorisidaeLorisidaeLorisidae is a family of strepsirrhine primates. The lorisids are all slim arboreal animals and include the lorises, pottos and angwantibos. Lorisids live in tropical, central Africa as well as in south and southeast Asia....
- Subfamily PerodicticinaePerodicticinaePerodicticinae is the subfamily of Lorisidae that includes the four species of African primates as shown below. They have a vestigial tail and index finger. The snout is pointed and the ears and eyes are large...
- Subfamily Lorisinae
- Genus Loris
- Gray slender lorisGray Slender LorisThe gray slender loris is a species of primate in the Loridae family. It is found in India and Sri Lanka. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss...
, Loris lydekkerianus- Highland slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus grandis
- Mysore slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus lydekkerianus
- Malabar slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus malabaricus
- Northern slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus nordicus
- Red slender lorisRed Slender LorisThe red slender loris is a small, nocturnal prosimian native to the rainforests of Sri Lanka. This is #6 of the 10 focal species and #22 of the 100 EDGE mammal species worldwide considered the most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered. Two subspecies have been identified, L. t....
, Loris tardigradus- Dry Zone slender loris, Loris tardigradus tardigradus
- Horton Plains slender loris, Loris tardigradus nyctoceboides
- Gray slender loris
- Genus NycticebusSlow lorisSlow lorises are a group of five species of strepsirrhine primates which make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in South and Southeast Asia, they range from Northeast India in the west to the Philippines in the east, and from the Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of Java in the south...
- Sunda slow loris, Nycticebus coucang
- Bengal slow lorisBengal Slow LorisThe Bengal slow loris or northern slow loris is a strepsirrhine primate and a species of slow loris native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina. Its geographic range is larger than that of any other slow loris species...
, Nycticebus bengalensis - Pygmy slow lorisPygmy Slow LorisThe pygmy slow loris is a rare species of loris found in the tropical dry forests of Vietnam, Laos, southern China, and east of the Mekong River in Cambodia....
, Nycticebus pygmaeus - Javan slow lorisJavan slow lorisThe Javan slow loris is a strepsirrhine primate and a species of slow loris native to the western and central portions of the island of Java, in Indonesia...
, Nycticebus javanicus - Bornean slow lorisBornean Slow LorisThe Bornean slow loris or Philippine slow loris is a strepsirrhine primate and a species of slow loris that is native to the island of Borneo , the nearby islands of Belitung and Bangka in Indonesia, and the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines...
, Nycticebus menagensis - ? Nycticebus linglom? Nycticebus linglom? Nycticebus linglom is a fossil primate from the Miocene of Thailand. Known only from a single tooth, an upper third molar, it is thought to be related to the living slow lorises , but the material is not sufficient to assign the species to Nycticebus with certainty, and the species name...
(fossil, MioceneMioceneThe Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
)
- Genus Loris
- Subfamily Perodicticinae