Potto
| Potto | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Potto ( Perodicticus potto ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Perodicticus potto | ||||||||||||
| ( Statius Müller , 1766) |
The potto ( Perodicticus potto ) is a species of primate from the Loris family (Lorisidae). It occurs with three subspecies in West Africa from the southeast of Senegal to southwest Nigeria , as well as in Kenya on the Mount Kenya massif .
Subspecies
- P. potto potto Müller, 1766 , occurs from south-east Senegal via south-east Guinea , Sierra Leone , Liberia , the Ivory Coast to south-west Ghana . The subspecies has not yet been found in the rest of Guinea, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau .
- P. potto juju Thomas, 1910 , lives on the east bank of the Volta in southeastern Ghana through the south of Togo and Benin to the southwest of Nigeria and is possibly an independent species.
- P. potto stockley Butynski & de Jong, 2007 , endemic to the Mount Kenya massif in southwestern Kenya.
features
The potto reaches a head-torso length of about 30 cm and a weight of 850 to 1000 g and is therefore the smallest of the three types of potto in terms of size. With a length of 4 to 6 cm, the tail is only half as long as that of the Cameroon Pottos . The fur is dense and dark brown in color with a dark central stripe on the back. Hands and feet are light-colored. The ears stand out clearly in the fur of the round head. The inside of the ear is yellowish. The Potto has long black whisker hair from the back of the head down between the shoulder blades. He has relatively small teeth.
P. potto stockley has a cinnamon-colored face, a reddish muzzle, a yellowish throat and relatively short, cream-colored belly hairs.
Way of life
The Potto lives in primary and secondary forests , sometimes also on plantations and forest savannas. The type specimen of P. potto stockley was caught at an altitude of 1830 meters. The exact way of life of the species has not yet been researched. Like other pottos, it is arboreal , nocturnal and will primarily feed on ripe fruits, tree sap, insects and small vertebrates. A female pot usually gives birth to one young per year, rarely twins. The young animal weighs 30 to 42 g at birth. It is weaned after 120 to 180 days.
Danger
The nominated form of the potto is widespread, not uncommon and is classified as "not endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN ). It occurs in some protected areas, including the Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal and the Kakum and Kyabobo National Parks in Ghana. P. potto juju is not listed at the IUCN and P. potto stockley is only known from one museum specimen and may already be extinct.
In Europe the species is kept in Amsterdam, Madrid, Birmingham, London and Bratton Flemin.
literature
- KAI Nekaris: Lorisidae (Angwantibos, Pottos and Lorises). Pages 227-228 in Russell A. Mittermeier , Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson : Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Primates: 3rd ISBN 978-8496553897
supporting documents
Web links
- Perodicticus potto ssp. potto in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Oates, JF, Butynski, TM, Kingdon, J., Bearder, S. & Pimley, E., 2008. Accessed March 12, 2015.
- Perodicticus potto ssp. stockleyi in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Hoffmann, M., De Jong, Y. & Butynski, TM, 2008. Accessed March 12, 2015.
- Video: Perodicticus potto - climbing . Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) 1954, made available by the Technical Information Library (TIB), doi : 10.3203 / IWF / E-26 .