i.i:mcrid.i: 



6c,- 



Long thin body, long, angularly bent, slender limits, and no tail. 

 [ta habits, according to Mr. W. T. Blanford, 1 are "very similar 

 to those of 



A fir,!, us iardi- 

 gradus, except 

 that the Slender 

 Loris is rather 

 quicker in its 

 m o v e m ents, 

 though still slow 

 in general. Like 

 its ally, it is 

 purely nocturnal 



Fig. 330. — The Slender Loris (Loris gracilis). From Blanford, 

 Mammalia of British India, p. 47. 



and arboreal, 

 living upon 

 shoots and young 

 leaves, insects, 

 birds' eggs, bird-. 

 and lizards. It 

 is said to be very 

 fond of honey or 

 syrup. It sleeps 

 rolled up in a 

 ball with its head between its legs, grasping its perch with its arms." 



B. Index fingers reduced to a mere tubercle without nail. Both 

 the known species are from AVest Africa. 



Perodiclicus. 2 — A short tail, about a third of the length of the 

 trunk. Two or three of the anterior dorsal vertebrae have very 

 long slender spinous processes Avhich in the living animal project 

 beyond the general level of the skin, forming distinct conical pro- 

 minences, covered only by an exceedingly thin and naked integu- 

 ment. The Potto, P. potto, is one of the oldest known members of 

 the lemuroid group, having been described in 1705 by Bosnian, 

 who met with it in his voyage to Guinea. It was, however, lost 

 sight of until 1825, when it was re-discovered in Sierra Leone, and 

 fully described by Bennett in 1830 under the name of Pcrodidicus 

 geqffroyi. Bennett's generic name has been retained, but the specific 

 name bestowed by Gmelin, adopted from Bosnian, has been restored. 

 It is also found in the Gaboon. It is strictly nocturnal, and slower 

 in its movements even than Nyctkehis tar<Ii<jr<t<hix, which otherwise 

 it much resembles in its habits. 



A second species, the Awantibo (/'. calabarensis), rather smaller 

 and more delicately made, with smaller hands and feet and rudi- 

 mentary tail, constitutes the genus Arclocebus of Gray. It is found 



1 Mammalia of British India, p. 48(1888). 

 2 Bennett, Froc. Zool. Soc. 1839, p. 109. 



