Loris

loris

[′lȯr·əs]

(vertebrate zoology)

Either of two slow-moving, nocturnal, arboreal primates included in the family Lorisidae: the slender loris (Loris tardigradus) and slow loris (Nycticebus coucang).

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Loris

 

any one animal of two genera of Prosimii of the family Lorisidae. The slender loris (Loris tardigradus) is the only species of the genus Loris. The body measures 20-25 cm, and the weight is 85-350 g. The fur is thick and soft, gray or reddish brown in color. The limbs are slender and nearly equal in length. The second digit of the hand is reduced. There is no tail, and the eyes are very large.

Lorises are distributed in Southeast Asia (Hindustan and the island of Sri Lanka). The genus Nycticebus is represented by two species: the slow loris (N. coucang), with a body measuring 30-38 cm, and N. pygmaeus, with a body measuring 18-21 cm. The animal’s tail is short and hidden in the thick fur. The coloration is brownish, reddish, or gray. Nycticebus is distributed in Southeast Asia (Hindustan, Indochina, Malacca, and on some islands of the Malay Archipelago). All lorises live in forests on trees and are found singly or in pairs. They are nocturnal, and their movements are very slow. Lorises feed chiefly on insects, small lizards and birds, and fruits. The young are born at various times of the year (for example, on the island of Sri Lanka they are born in April or May and November or December). Lorises are rarely kept in captivity.

REFERENCES

Zhizn’ zhivotnykh, vol. 6. Moscow, 1971.
Napier, J., and P. Napier. A Handbook of Living Primates. London-New York, 1967.

M. F. NESTURKH

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.