New Toxic Nocturnal Primate Species Discovered
Scientific American - Energy & Sustainability 2012-12-14
Summary:
[caption id="attachment_10244" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="Image of new slow loris species, N. kayan, courtesy of Ch'ien C Lee"] [/caption]The slow loris shouldn't be a difficult object of study. For one thing, it's slow--very slow (think sloth slow ). And these small primates, which are unique in possessing a toxic bite to ward off predators, are charismatic due in large part to their compelling, wide-eyed faces. But they are also nocturnal , and they tend to live in hard-to-reach places, such as the rainforests of Borneo. Which might be why until recently, scientists had lumped all the slow lorises ( Nycticebus ) into just two species. [More]