A
new species of small nocturnal primate has been discovered by scientists in
Borneo.
The
primate is a type of slow loris, a small cute-looking animal that is more
closely related to bushbabies and lemurs than to monkeys or apes.
Uniquely
among primates, they have a toxic bite, belying their appearance.
Two
previously known subspecies of slow loris have also been accorded full species
status.
Details
of the discoveries are published in the American Journal of Primatology.
The
new species of slow loris, named Nycticebus
kayan, has gone unrecognised until now, in part due to its nocturnal
lifestyle.
Animals
that are active by night often rely less on visual clues, and can therefore
appear more similar to one another.
So
the scientists had to look hard to discover the differences between the new
species.
An
international team of researchers, led by Professor Anna Nekaris of Oxford
Brookes University in the UK, and Rachel Munds from the University of Missouri
in Columbia, US, surveyed slow lorises living in the forests of Borneo and the
Philippines.
Read
on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/20704172
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!