View source for Loris

{{Short description|Subfamily of primates}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Lorises
| fossil_range = [[Miocene]] to present
| taxon = Lorinae
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1821<ref name=msw3/>
| image = Smit.Faces of Lorises.jpg
| image_caption = [[Joseph Smit]]'s ''Faces of Lorises'' (1904)
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genus|Genera]]
| subdivision = {{plainlist|
*''[[Loris (genus)|Loris]]''
*''[[slow loris|Nycticebus]]''
*''[[pygmy slow loris|Xanthonycticebus]]''}}
| synonyms =
* Lorisinae
}}

'''Loris''' is the [[common name]] for the [[Strepsirrhini|wet-nosed primates]] of the subfamily '''Lorinae'''<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=122-123}}</ref> (sometimes spelled '''Lorisinae'''<ref name=Brandon-Jones_et_al>{{cite journal | last1 = Brandon-Jones | first1 = D. | last2 = Eudey | first2 = A. A. | last3 = Geissmann | first3 = T. | last4 = Groves | first4 = C. P. | last5 = Melnick | first5 = D. J. | last6 = Morales | first6 = J. C. | last7 = Shekelle | first7 = M. | last8 = Stewart | first8 = C.-B. | title = Asian Primate Classification | page = 100 | journal = International Journal of Primatology | volume = 25 | issue = 1 | year = 2004 | url = http://www.gibbons.de/main/papers/pdf_files/2004asianprimates.pdf | doi = 10.1023/b:ijop.0000014647.18720.32 | s2cid = 29045930 }}</ref>) in the family [[Lorisidae]]. ''Loris'' is one genus in this subfamily and includes the [[slender loris]]es, ''Nycticebus'' is the genus containing the [[slow loris]]es, and ''Xanthonycticebus'' is the genus name of the [[pygmy slow loris]].

==Description==
Lorises are [[nocturnal]] and [[arboreal]].<ref name="NowakWalker1999">{{cite book |first1= Ronald M.| last= Nowak | first2= Ernest |last2= Pillsbury Walker |title=Walker's Primates of the World |url=https://archive.org/details/walkersprimateso0000nowa |url-access=registration |quote=loris OR lorises. |date=28 October 1999 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-6251-9}}</ref> They are found in [[tropical]] and woodland forests of [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], and parts of [[southeast Asia]]. They resemble [[lemur]]s.<ref name=Jurmain>{{cite book |title = Introduction to Physical Anthropology |first1=Robert |last1=Jurmain |first2=Lynn |last2=Kilgore |first3=Wenda |last3=Trevathan |first4=Russell L. |last4=Ciochon |first5=Eric |last5=Bartelink |year = 2008 |display-authors=2 | page= 211 |isbn=978-1337099820}}</ref> A loris's locomotion is a slow and cautious climbing form of [[quadrupedalism]]. Some lorises are almost entirely [[insectivorous]], while others also include [[fruit]]s, [[natural gum|gum]]s, [[leaves]], and [[slug]]s in their diet.<ref name=Jurmain />

Lorises are [[strepsirrhine]]s, most of which have a [[toothcomb]], a special adaptation in their lower front teeth. This toothcomb is used for grooming their fur and even injecting their venom.<ref name=Nekaris>{{cite journal |title = Extreme primates: Ecology and evolution of Asian lorises |last1 = Nekaris |first1=K A I |journal=Evol Anthropol |year=2014 |volume=23 |issue=5 |pages=177–87 |doi=10.1002/evan.21425 |pmid=25347976 |s2cid = 1948088}}</ref>

Female lorises practice ''infant parking'', leaving their infants in trees or bushes. Before they do this, they bathe their young with [[allergen]]ic [[saliva]] that is acquired by licking patches on the insides of their elbows which produce a mild toxin that discourages most [[predator]]s,<ref name= Jurmain/> though [[orangutan]]s occasionally eat lorises.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.orangutan.org/orangutan-facts/orangutan-ecology |title=Orangutan Ecology |publisher= Orangutan Foundation International |access-date=2014-01-14 }}</ref>

==Taxonomic classification==

The family Lorisidae is found within the [[infraorder]] [[Lemuriformes]] and [[Taxonomic rank|superfamily]] [[Lorisoidea]], along with the family Galagidae, the [[galago]]s. This superfamily is a sister taxon of Lemuroidea, the [[lemur]]s. Within Lorinae, there are ten species (and several more subspecies) of lorises across three genera:{{R|msw3}}
* Family [[Lorisidae]]
** Subfamily [[Perodicticinae]]
** '''Subfamily Lorinae'''
*** Genus ''[[Loris (genus)|Loris]]''
**** [[Gray slender loris]], ''Loris lydekkerianus''
***** Highland slender loris, ''L. lydekkerianus grandis''
***** Mysore slender loris, ''L. lydekkerianus lydekkerianus''
***** Malabar slender loris, ''L. lydekkerianus malabaricus''
***** Northern Ceylonese slender loris, ''L. lydekkerianus nordicus''
**** [[Red slender loris]], ''L. tardigradus''
***** Dry Zone slender loris, ''L. tardigradus tardigradus''
***** Horton Plains slender loris, ''L. tardigradus nyctoceboides''
*** Genus ''[[Xanthonycticebus]]''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nekaris |first1=K. Anne-Isola |last2=Nijman |first2=Vincent |date=2022-03-23 |title=A new genus name for pygmy lorises, Xanthonycticebus gen. nov. (Mammalia, primates) |url=https://zse.pensoft.net/article/81942/ |journal=Zoosystematics and Evolution |language=en |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=87–92 |doi=10.3897/zse.98.81942 |s2cid=247649999 |issn=1860-0743|doi-access=free }}</ref>
**** [[Pygmy slow loris]], ''X. pygmaeus''
*** Genus ''[[slow loris|Nycticebus]]''
**** [[Bangka slow loris]], ''Nycticebus bancanus''
**** [[Bengal slow loris]], ''N. bengalensis''
**** [[Bornean slow loris]], ''N. borneanus''
**** [[Sunda slow loris]], ''N. coucang''
**** [[Javan slow loris]], ''N. javanicus''
**** [[Kayan River slow loris]], ''N. kayan''
**** [[Philippine slow loris]], ''N. menagensis''
**** [[Sumatran slow loris]], ''N. hilleri''
**** †[[? Nycticebus linglom|? ''N. linglom'']] (fossil, [[Miocene]])

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Wikispecies-inline|Lorinae|Loris}}

{{Lorisidae nav}}
{{Primates}}
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[[Category:Lorises and galagos|*]]
[[Category:Primates of Asia| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]