Loris

Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine primates of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. Loris is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, while Nycticebus is the genus containing the slow lorises.

Lorises are nocturnal. They are found in tropical and woodland forests of India, Sri Lanka, and parts of southeast Asia. Loris locomotion is a slow and cautious climbing form of quadrupedalism. Some lorises are almost entirely insectivorous, while others also include fruits, gums, leaves, and slugs in their diet.

Female lorises practice infant parking, leaving their 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, which produce a mild toxin that discourages most predators, though orangutans occasionally eat lorises.

Taxonomic classification

The family Lorisidae is found within the infraorder Lemuriformes and superfamily Lorisoidea, along with the family Galagidae, the galagos. This infraorder is a sister taxon of Lemuriformes, the lemurs. Within Lorinae, there are ten species (and several more subspecies) of lorises across two genera:

Slender loris

Slender lorises (Loris) are a genus of loris native to India and Sri Lanka. The slender loris spends most of its life in trees (arboreal), traveling along the top of branches with slow and precise movements. It is found in tropical rainforests, scrub forest, semi deciduous forest and swamps. The species have lifespans of 15 years and are nocturnal. Slender lorises generally feed on insects, reptiles, shoots of plants and fruits. Locally, they are referred to as Kaadu Paapa ("forest baby") in Kannada, Kutti thevangu' in Tamil, and Unahapuluwa in Sri Lanka.

Taxonomy

There are two known species:

Threats

According to biologists, poaching activity has led to the steady decline of the species in Tamil Nadu. Native people have always believed that all parts of the slender loris have some medicinal or magical powers. This has contributed greatly to the decline of the slender loris. In addition, slender lorises are illegally smuggled to supply a growing exotic pet trade. Along the western region of Tamil Nadu, there is a vigorous clampdown on illegal poaching of slender lorises.

Loris (disambiguation)

Loris can refer to:

See also