Endangered animals - 0 views
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sanjeewa padmal punchihewa on 15 Nov 11Sri Lanka is a beautiful tiny island located in the Indian Ocean in Southern Asia, Sri Lanka is a land faced with many environmental challenges, including deforestation and the erosion of coasts due to mining. In addition to these issues, the CIA World Factbook reports that the wildlife is threatened by poachers, pollution and the expansion of urban areas. Slender Loris The slender Loris has extremely thin arms and legs. Its face is dominated by huge round eyes which give it excellent night vision and enable it to hunt for insects during the night. Populations of this small primate are declining because their forest habitats are being destroyed for logging, agriculture and development. The Lorisidae comprises the African angwantibos and pottos and the Asian lorises. These species are thought to share a common ancestor with the bushbabies of Africa (the Galagidae) and the lemurs of Madagascar. The fossil record of the lorids extends back to the Early Miocene (20 million years ago). In the past there has been considerable confusion over slender loris classification. Most authorities now recognize two species of slender loris: Loris tardigradus (with 2 subspecies, both occurring in Sri Lanka) and Loris lydekkerianus (with 4 subspecies, occurring in both India and Sri Lanka). The name slender loris derived from its slender arms and legs. L. tardigradus is smaller than its relative the grey slender loris (L. lydekkerianus). Its small face is dominated by huge round eyes and prominent ears, which are thin, rounded and hairless at the edges. The soft dense fur is a grey or reddish-brown color on the back, depending on the subspecies. The underside is whitish-grey. The species has no tail. The highland slender loris (L. t. nycticeboides) has shorter, thicker limbs relative to body length, a larger head, and thicker fur which completely cover the ears. It superficially resembles the Asian slow loris (Nycticebus coucang). This species is among the most social
