234 



APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 



THE POTTOS, OR AFRICAN SLOW LEMURS 

 Genus Perodicticus 



THE POTTO ASI.EEP. 

 (One-half natural size.) 



In West Africa the place of the 

 slow lemurs of Asia is taken by two 

 species of lemur, which may be col- 

 lectively known as pottos, although 

 '6>'(~<^fU l \ i n its proper application the native 

 GTV\V name Potto appears to be restricted 

 to the first of the two kinds. The 

 pottos are distinguished by the index 

 finger of the hand being quite rudi- 

 mentary, consisting only of a stump 

 without distinct joints, and unprovided 

 with a nail. The typical potto is 

 further distinguished by possessing 

 a short tail, but since this appendage 

 is rudimentary in the second species, 

 it does not afford any characteristics 

 by which the African slow lemurs 

 can be distinguished from their Asi- 

 atic relatives. The habits of the 

 pottos are very similar to those of the 

 loris, but their movements are still 

 more deliberate and sluggish. 



BOSMAN'S POTTO {Perodicticus potto) 



The true, or Bosnian's potto, represented in our first illustration in its sleeping 

 posture, and in our second awake, takes its name from having been discovered by 

 the Dutch navigator, Van Bosnian, who met with it on the coast of Guinea, and 

 described it as long ago as the year 1705, under its native name of Potto. 



It is an animal of somewhat robust build, chiefly characterized by having a tail 

 of about one-third the length of the head and body ; the whole body being covered 

 with a thick coat of soft and moderately long hair. The small and rounded ears 

 stand up well above the fur of the head ; the large eyes are separated from one 

 another by a considerable interval ; and the muzzle is rather broad and not very 

 long. The arms and legs are nearly of equal length. With the exception of the 

 nearly naked nose and chin, which are flesh colored, the general color of the animal 

 is a kind of chestnut tint, with a black or grayish tinge ; the throat and under parts 

 being yellowish brown. The peculiar half-red, half-gray tint of the fur on the back 

 is produced by the individual hairs being slate colored at their roots, reddish in the 

 middle, and paler at the tips. 



