Loris Tardigradus
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The red slender loris (''Loris tardigradus'') is a small, nocturnal strepsirrhine
primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
native to the
rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
s of
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. This is 6 of the 10 focal species and No. 22 of the 100 EDGE mammal species worldwide considered the most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered. Two subspecies have been identified, ''L. t. tardigradus'' and ''L. t. nycticeboides''.


Taxonomy

* Genus ''
Loris Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine mammals of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. ''Loris'' is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, ''Nycticebus'' is the genus cont ...
'' ** Red slender loris, ''Loris tardigradus'' *** Horton Plains slender loris or mountain loris, ''Loris tardigradus nycticeboides'' *** Dry zone slender loris or lowland loris, ''Loris tardigradus tardigradus'' ** Gray slender loris, ''Loris lydekkerianus'' The ears are less prominent in ''Loris tardigradus tardigradus'' compared to ''Loris lydekkerianus''. The ears of ''Loris tardigradus nycticeboides'' are almost invisible.


Description

This small, slender primate is distinguished by large forward-facing eyes used for precise depth perception, long slender limbs, a well-developed index finger, the absence of tail, and large prominent ears, which are thin, rounded and hairless at the edges. The soft dense fur is reddish-brown color on the back, and the underside is whitish-grey with a sprinkling of silver hair. Its body length on average is , with an average weight of a mere . This
loris Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine mammals of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. ''Loris'' is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, ''Nycticebus'' is the genus cont ...
has a four-way grip on each foot. The big toe opposes the other 4 toes for a pincer-like grip on branches and food. It has a dark face mask with central pale stripe, much like the
slow loris Slow lorises are a group of several species of Nocturnality, nocturnal Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus ''Nycticebus''. Found in Southeast Asia and nearby areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the ...
es. ''L. tardigradus tardigradus'' is reddish brown in the back and creamy yellow below, while ''L. tardigradus nycticeboides'' is dark brown dorsally and very light brown in upperparts.


Behavior

The red slender loris favors lowland
rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
s (up to in altitude), tropical rainforests and inter-
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
forests of the south western wet-zone of Sri Lanka. Masmullah Proposed Forest Reserve harbors one of few remaining red slender loris populations, and is considered a
biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a ecoregion, biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after ...
. The most common plant species eaten was '' Humboldtia laurifolia'', occurring at 676 trees/ha, with overall density at 1077 trees/ha. ''Humboldtia laurifolia'' is vulnerable and has a mutualistic relationship with
ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...
s, providing abundant food for lorises. Reports from the 1960s suggest that it once also occurred in the coastal zone, however it is now thought to be extinct there. The red slender loris differs from its close relative the gray slender loris in its frequent use of rapid
arboreal locomotion Arboreal locomotion is the animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolution, evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are e ...
. It forms small social groups, containing adults of both sexes as well as young animals. This species is among the most social of the
nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...
primates. During daylight hours the animals sleep in groups in branch tangles, or curled up on a branch with their heads between their legs. The groups also undertake mutual grooming and play at wrestling. The adults typically hunt separately during the night. They are primarily
insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...
but also eat bird eggs,
berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...
, leaves,
bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...
s and occasionally
invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...
s as well as
gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...
s and lizards. They forage, and while doing so, ants may stick to the back of their hands. As this occurs, the red slender loris is able to consume these ants. To maximize protein and nutrient uptake they consume every part of their prey, including the scales and bones. They make nests out of leaves or find hollows of trees or a similar secure place to live in.


Reproduction

Females are dominant. The female reaches her sexual maturity at 10 months and is receptive to the male twice a year. This species mates while hanging upside down from branches; individuals in captivity will not breed if no suitable branch is available. The
gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...
period is 166–169 days after which the female will bear 1–2 young which feed from her for 6–7 months. The lifespan of this species is believed to be around 15–18 years in the wild.


Threats

This slender loris is an endangered species.
Habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
is a major threat. It is widely trapped and killed for use in supposed remedies for eye diseases and is preyed upon by snakes, dogs, and some fish. Other threats include electrocution on live wires, road accidents and capture for the pet trade.


Conservation

The red slender loris was identified as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2007 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) project. One early success has been the rediscovery of the virtually unknown Horton Plains slender loris (''Loris tardigradus nycticeboides''). Originally documented in 1937, there have been only four known encounters in the past 72 years,http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/0,1518,707502,00.html Der Spiegel (German) article about the rediscovery and for more than 60 years until 2002 the sub-species had been believed to be extinct. The sub-species was rediscovered in 2002 by a team led by Anna Nekaris in Horton Plains National Park. The late 2009 capture by a team working under the
Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...
's EDGE programme has resulted in the first detailed physical examination of the Horton Plains sub-species and the first-ever photographs of it. The limited available evidence suggests there may be only about 100 animals still existing, which would make it among the top five most-threatened primates worldwide.


References


External links

*ARKive â€
images and movies of the slender loris ''(Loris tardigradus and Loris lydekkerianus)''
* EDGE of Existenc
"(Slender loris)"
Saving the World's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species {{Taxonbar, from=Q614947 red slender loris Mammals of Sri Lanka Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Primates of South Asia EDGE species Endangered animals Endangered biota of Asia red slender loris Species that are or were threatened by habitat loss red slender loris