CLASSIFICATION OF LORIS
PHYLUM :- CHORDATA (Notochord, dorsal tubular nerve cord present and gill slits present)
Group :- CRANIATA (Definite head. Cranium with brain present)
Sub-phylum :- VERTEBRATA (vertebral column present)
Division :- GNATHOSTOMATA (Jaws and paired appendages present)
Super class :- TETRAPODA (Paired limbs, lungs, bony skeleton and cornified skin).
Class :-MAMMALIA (Body covered with hairs. females have mammary glands).
Sub-class :- THERIA (Viviparous).
Infra class :- EUTHERIA (Placental mammals, vagina single).
Order :- PRIMATES (Head turns easily on neck).
Sub-order :- LEMUROIDEA (Head without snout).
Genus :- Loris
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
These are found outside Madagascar and in India and Sri Lanka.
HABIT AND HABITAT
They are nocturnal and arboreal. They are found in tropical and woodland forests of India, Sri Lanka, and parts of southeast Asia. Some lorises are almost entirely insectivorous, while others also include fruits, gums, leaves, and slugs in their diet.
GENERAL CHARACTERSTICS OF LORIS
- Body is covered with brownish fur with silver look. Fur is thick and woolly.
- Body divided into head, trunk, abdomen and tail. Head contains snout, nostril, large eyes and ear.
- These animals are about 25 cm long and have long, thin arms. They weigh around 275 grams. They have a small, vestigial tail.
- Head small and produced into snout.
- Eyes are closely placed. They are very distinct and bulging. Orbit is forwardly directed.
- They move with great deliberation through the trees and often hang by their feet, with their hands free to grasp food or branches.
- External ear or pinna is conical.
- Nostrils in the form of small apertures.
- Teeth thecodont and heterodont.
- Limbs elongated. Some toes clawed, others with flat nails. Locomotion remarkably slow. It is often found hanging upside down.
- They seem to be survival of an earlier stock.
- They are often hunted for food, used in traditional medicines, or collected for the pet trade. Many species are vulnerable to habitat loss as their living space is converted into agricultural or grazing land.
- Their mating season is twice a year, from April to May as well as October to November. Gestation is 166-169 days.
- The females bear one (sometimes two) young after about six months’ gestation.
SPECIAL FEATURES
In Lorises traces of very early features remain, including a transverse fold of skin on abdomen of the female, which is considered by some to represent a marsupium. They show some features that recall the higher primates. For example, the tympanic ring is fused to the petrosal bulla. The face in some is shorter and brain rounder than in true lemurs.
IDENTIFICATION
This mammal has forward directed orbits and above features, hence it is Loris.
REFERENCES
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slender_loris
- https://www.britannica.com/animal/loris-primate-subfamily
- Book of Practical Zoology VERTEBRATE by S.S.LAL – Rastogi Publications.
- SOURCES OF IMAGES-https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.senseindia.co.uk% 2Four-blog%2Fthe- remarkable-yet- unknown-species-of- india-the-slow- loris%2F&psig=AOv Vaw3ylarSj4bsZ2Ftj beOy7AA&ust=1602 834648894000&sou rce=images&cd=vfe &ved=2ahUKEwix36 jAjrbsAhVT0nMBHc l_DjsQr4kDegUIAR DFAQ
- https://www.google. com/url? sa=i&url=https%3A %2F%2Fphys.org%2 Fnews%2F2015-07- loris.html&psig=AOv Vaw3ylarSj4bsZ2Ftj beOy7AA&ust=1602 834648894000&sou rce=images&cd=vfe &ved=2ahUKEwix36 jAjrbsAhVT0nMBHc l_DjsQr4kDegUIAR C7AQ
- https://www.google. com/url? sa=i&url=https%3A %2F%2Fnewsfeed.ti me.com%2F2012%2 F09%2F13%2Fthree- men-arrested-for- smuggling-slender-lorises-in-underwear%2F&psig=AOvVaw3ylarSj4bsZ2FtjbeOy7AA&ust=1602834648894000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=2ahUKEwix36jAjrbsAhVT0nMBHcl_DjsQr4kDegUIARCiAQ
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