Central African potto

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Central African potto
Perodicticus potto - Royal Museum for Central Africa - DSC06787.JPG
Specimen at the Royal Museum for Central Africa
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Strepsirrhini
Family: Lorisidae
Genus: Perodicticus
Species:
P. edwardsi
Binomial name
Perodicticus edwardsi
Bouvier, 1879
Synonyms

The Central African potto (Perodicticus edwardsi) is a species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primate. It is found in Central Africa. It is also known as Milne-Edwards's potto, after Alphonse Milne-Edwards.

Contents

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered a subspecies of Perodicticus potto (now the West African potto), but a 2015 study split it into three species, and classified P. edwardsi as a distinct species. It is thought to be the sister species to the East African potto (Perodicticus ibeanus), from which it diverged during the late Miocene, about 5.5 million years ago. [2]

The IUCN Red List considers to the mysterious "false potto" (Pseudopotto martini) to be a misidentified specimen of an East African potto, based on the rumored provenance of the individual being from Cameroon. [1] In contrast, the American Society of Mammalogists considers the false potto to be a misidentified P. potto. [3]

Distribution

This species ranges from Nigeria east to the Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo, and south to Angola. The Niger River serves as the western boundary of the species' range, separating it from the West African potto. [1]

Conservation

This species is considered Least Concern by the IUCN Red List and is known to be an adaptable species, being found in both undisturbed and disturbed forests, even near human populations. However, localized declines may be taking place due to deforestation for agriculture and collection for the bushmeat trade. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorisidae</span> Family of primates

Lorisidae is a family of strepsirrhine primates. The lorisids are all slim arboreal animals and comprise the lorises, pottos and angwantibos. Lorisids live in tropical, central Africa as well as in south and southeast Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perodicticinae</span> Subfamily of primates

Perodicticinae is a subfamily of the family Lorisidae. It includes five species of African primates as shown under taxonomy below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potto</span> Arboreal primate of west-central Africa

The pottos are three species of strepsirrhine primate in the genus Perodicticus of the family Lorisidae. In some English-speaking parts of Africa, they are called "softly-softlys".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slow loris</span> Genus of primates from Southeast Asia

Slow lorises are a group of several species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines in the east, and from Yunnan province in China in the north to the island of Java in the south. Although many previous classifications recognized as few as a single all-inclusive species, there are now at least eight that are considered valid: the Sunda slow loris (N. coucang), Bengal slow loris (N. bengalensis), Javan slow loris (N. javanicus), Philippine slow loris (N. menagensis), Bangka slow loris (N. bancanus), Bornean slow loris (N. borneanus), Kayan River slow loris (N. kayan) and Sumatran slow loris. A ninth species, the pygmy slow loris (X. pygmaeus), was recently moved to the new genus Xanthonycticebus. After the pygmy slow loris, the group's closest relatives are the slender lorises of southern India and Sri Lanka. Their next closest relatives are the African lorisids, the pottos, false pottos, and angwantibos. They are less closely related to the remaining lorisoids, and more distantly to the lemurs of Madagascar. Their evolutionary history is uncertain since their fossil record is patchy and molecular clock studies have given inconsistent results.

The false potto is a lorisoid primate of uncertain taxonomic status found in Africa. Anthropologist Jeffrey H. Schwartz named it in 1996 as the only species of the genus Pseudopotto on the basis of two specimens that had previously been identified as a potto (Perodicticus). The precise provenances of the two specimens are uncertain, but at least one may have come from Cameroon. Schwartz thought the false potto could even represent a separate family, but other researchers have argued that the supposed distinguishing features of the animal do not actually distinguish it from the potto; specifically, the false potto shares several features with the West African potto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milne-Edwards' sportive lemur</span> Species of lemur

Milne-Edwards' sportive lemur, or Milne-Edwards' weasel lemur, is a species of lemur in the family Lepilemuridae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioko Allen's bushbaby</span> Species of primate

Bioko Allen's bushbaby, also known as the Bioko squirrel galago, is a species of primate in the galago family found in Cameroon, Nigeria, and the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. The bushbaby is currently near-threatened, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross River bushbaby</span> Subspecies of primate

The Cross River bushbaby, also known as the Cross River squirrel galago, is a subspecies of prosimian primate in the family Galagidae which is endemic to a restricted area of West Africa. It is one of four species of squirrel galago in the genus Sciurocheirus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milne-Edwards's sifaka</span> Species of lemur

Milne-Edwards's sifaka, or Milne-Edwards's simpona, is a large arboreal, diurnal lemur endemic to the eastern coastal rainforest of Madagascar. Milne-Edwards's sifaka is characterized by a black body with a light-colored "saddle" on the lower part of its back. It is closely related to the diademed sifaka, and was until recently considered a subspecies of it. Like all sifakas, it is a primate in the family Indriidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squirrel galago</span> Species of primate

The squirrel galagos are a group of four species of strepsirrhine primates. They are classified in the genus Sciurocheirus of the family Galagidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West African potto</span> Species of primate

The West African potto is a species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primate. It is found in tropical West Africa. It is also known as Bosman's potto, after Willem Bosman, who described the species in 1704. It is the type species of the genus Perodicticus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African potto</span> Species of primate

The East African potto is a species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primate. It is found in Central and East Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western grey gibbon</span> Species of mammal

The western grey gibbon, also known as Abbot's grey gibbon, is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It was named after zoologist William Louis Abbott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern grey gibbon</span> Species of mammal

The eastern grey gibbon or northern grey gibbon is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae.

The southern patas monkey is a critically endangered species of Old World monkey found only in Tanzania, and formerly in Kenya. It may be the most endangered primate in Africa known to still be extant, with only 100 to 200 known wild individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hairy saki</span> Species of New World monkey

The hairy saki is a species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey. It is found in northern Peru, southern Colombia, and a small portion of northwestern Brazil.

Rylands' bald-faced saki is a disputed species of saki monkey, a type of New World monkey. It is found in Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toppin's titi monkey</span> Species of New World monkey

Toppin's titi monkey is a species of titi monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Brazil, Peru, and Bolivia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Svensson, M. & Pimley, E. (2020). "Perodicticus edwardsi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T136852A91996061. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T136852A91996061.en . Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  2. Pozzi, Luca; Nekaris, K. Anne-Isola; Perkin, Andrew; Bearder, Simon K.; Pimley, Elizabeth R.; Schulze, Helga; Streicher, Ulrike; Nadler, Tilo; Kitchener, Andrew; Zischler, Hans; Zinner, Dietmar (2015). "Remarkable ancient divergences amongst neglected lorisiform primates". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 175 (3): 661–674. doi:10.1111/zoj.12286. ISSN   1096-3642. PMC   4744660 . PMID   26900177.
  3. "Perodicticus potto (P. L. S. Müller, 1766)". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists . Retrieved 2021-11-08.