West African potto

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West African potto

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Strepsirrhini
Family: Lorisidae
Genus: Perodicticus
Species:
P. potto
Binomial name
Perodicticus potto
(Müller, 1766)
Synonyms

The West African potto (Perodicticus potto) is a species of nocturnal

Perodicticus.[2][3]

Taxonomy

This species was formerly considered the only species in the genus Perodicticus, but a 2015 study split it into three species, with only the name Perodicticus potto only applying to the West African population.[4]

Phylogenetic evidence supports the West African potto being the most basal member of the genus Perodicticus, with the other two species being sister species to one another. It is thought to have diverged from the other species during the mid-late Miocene, between 6-10 million years ago.[4]

The mysterious "false potto" (Pseudopotto martini) is now thought to have been a misidentified specimen of West African potto.[3]

Distribution

This species ranges from Guinea west to Nigeria, with an disjunct population in eastern Senegal. The Niger River serves as the eastern barrier to the species' range, separating it from the Central African potto (P. edwardsi).[1]

Ecology

One population of

chimpanzees living in Mont Assirik, Senegal, was observed to eat West African pottos, taking them from their sleeping places during the day; however, this behaviour has not been observed in chimps elsewhere.[5]

Conservation

Although this species is known to survive in disturbed forests near human habitation, population growth and subsequent habitat destruction in West Africa are of major risk to the species. Heavy deforestation for industrial agriculture is thought to have led to rapid population declines in the species. In addition, this species is more frequently hunted for bushmeat due to a decline in larger animals to hunt, which has in turn also caused pottos to become rarer. Due to this, it is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.[1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T91995408A92248699.en
    . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ISSN 0024-0672
    .
  3. ^ a b "Perodicticus potto (P. L. S. Müller, 1766)". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  4. ^
    PMID 26900177
    .
  5. ^ Chimpanzees in the dry habitats of Mont Assirik, Senegal and Semliki Wildlife Reserve, Uganda' by K. D. Hunt and W. C. McGrew. Chapter from Behavioural Diversity in Chimpanzees and Bonobos, edited by Christophe Boesch (Cambridge University Press, 2002)
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