Perodicticus edwardsi, Bouvier, 1879
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6632647 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6632618 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039C9423-FFFB-0875-318F-D1895FFDF920 |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Perodicticus edwardsi |
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Milne-Edwards’s Potto
Perodicticus edwardsi View in CoL
French: Potto de Milne-Edwards / German: Kamerun-Potto / Spanish: Poto de Milne-Edwards
Other common names: Cameroon Potto, Central African Potto, Central Potto
Taxonomy. Perodicticus edwardsi Bouvier, 1879 View in CoL ,
Congo-Brazzaville, north bank of the Congo River.
Classified by C. P. Groves in 2001 as a subspecies of P. potto , but molecular genetic studies have shown it to be a distinct species. There appears to be significant variation among individuals collected from Cameroon and elsewhere, and it is believed that subspecies of P. edwards: may be found with further research. One of these may be a smaller form P. faustus , described by Thomas in 1910 from the Congo Basin, considered to be a synonym by Groves. Monotypic.
Distribution. From the Niger River in S Nigeria E through Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of the Congo, and then S of the Congo River through DR Congo as far E as Irneti and as far S as N Angola. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 32-40 cm, tail c.10 cm; weight 1.1-6 kg. Milne-Edwards’s Potto is the largest of the pottos, and its tail, although short, is about 50% longer that those of the West African Potto ( P. potto ) and the East African Potto (P. itbeanus). Pelage is cinnamon-brown to orange above, and lighter underneath. Teeth are larger than those of the West African Potto. Vertebrae are specially adapted to form a sort of neck guard. It has long black guard hairs (specialized sensory hairs) dorsally from the crown to the scapular region.
Habitat. Swamp, lowland, mid-altitude, and montane rainforests up to 1500 m above sea level. Milne-Edwards’s Potto is most frequently found 6-10 m above the ground in Cameroon, but in Gabon, it occurs 5-30 m above the ground.
Food and Feeding. Milne-Edwards’s Potto is mainly frugivorous, but it supplements its diet with a variety of foods. It forages mainly in the canopy, which makes direct observation of their diet choice difficult. Milne-Edwards’s Pottos sometimes go to the ground to forage. Plant material consumed includes ripe fruit and nectaries. They engage in a nose-down foraging posture to lick up ants, other invertebrates, and gum from bark. Insects, presumably beetles and their larvae, may be scavenged from oil palms Elaeis guineensis (Arecaceae) . Other prey includes giant West African land snails ( Achatina achatina ), moths, ants, beetles, beetle larvae, caterpillars, locusts, grasshoppers, spiders, millipedes, centipedes, slugs, frogs, bird eggs, small birds, and young bats. During dry periods, gum seems to become more important in some areas and can comprise 60% of the diet.
Breeding. In some parts of their range, Milne-Edwards’s Pottos seem to have a birth peak, whereas in others, births occur year-round; variation is probably related to food abundance. Captive pottos show no seasonal estrus. The estrous cycle is 38 days. Copulations normally begin with side-by-side sniffing; a dorsal-ventral mating posture is adopted and copulation lasts 1-4 minutes. Parturition occurs on a branch. After a gestation of 193-205 days, pottos give birth to one young weighing 52 g; twins are rare. They tend to give birth again after 12-13 months. Infant Milne-Edwards’s Pottos are white and can have blue eyes. A mother carries her infant clinging to the ventrum until it is 3-4 months of age. After that time, the infant is parked among branches and lianas while the mother forages. She retrieves the infant before dawn, and both infant and mother utter high-pitched “tisc” contact calls. By 3-4 months, the young potto is constantly with its mother,either riding on her back or walkingjust behind her. Infants are weaned at 120-180 days. They become independent at 6-8 months, and full sexual maturity is reached by 18 months. Pottos, in general, can live ¢.26 years in captivity and at least nine years in the wild.
Activity patterns. Milne-Edwards’s Potto is nocturnal and arboreal. It is an agile climber and does not move as slowly as one might think. When followed using radio-tracking in Cameroon, male pottos traveled an average of 2811 m/night (1330-6440 m/night), and females traveled an average of 707 m/night (951-3290 m/night). Anti-predator strategies are as described for the other taxa.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Milne-Edwards’s Potto is not gregarious, although it maintains complex social networks. In Gabon, they spent 4% of the time with conspecifics and slept alone, except for mothers and infants. In Cameroon, they spent 22% of the time with conspecifics and slept in close proximity 26% of the time. In Cameroon, social behavior, lack of sexual dimorphism, and ranging patterns imply a dispersed unimale—unifemale social system. In Gabon, pottos exhibit a dispersed unimale—multifemale social system, where the male patrols home ranges of one to three females. Home ranges of females in Gabon average 7-5 ha and are about one-half the size of male ranges (17-8-40 ha). Home ranges of males and females at Mount Kupe, south-western Cameroon, are a similar size, with females averaging 31-5 ha and males averaging 30-6 ha. Home ranges of one or two females and their infants overlapped the territory of one male in Gabon, while in Cameroon a male’s range overlapped extensively the range of just one female. Young adult females remain in or near their natal home ranges. Vocal exchanges are limited, with the majority of communication made by olfactory cues (urine marking and genital gland secretions). Such cues are deposited in the environment and on conspecifics. Milne-Edwards’s Pottos in captivity make a high-pitched whistle and growling threat.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List (as P. potto edwardsi ). Milne-Edwards’s Potto is widespread and common, and although declining in numbers in some areas, it occurs in at least eight protected areas: Korup National Park and Dja Biosphere Reserve in Cameroon; Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of the Congo; Salonga National Park in the DR Congo; Monte Alen National Park in Equatorial Guinea; and Cross River National Park, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary and the Mamu Reserve in Nigeria. It also occurs in the proposed Mount Kupe Forest Reserve in Cameroon and Iko Esai Community Forest in Nigeria.
Bibliography. Bearder & Pitts (1987), Bearder et al. (2003), Charles-Dominique (1971, 1974a, 1977a), Cowgill (1969), Cowgill et al. (1989), Groves (1998, 2001), Grubb (1978), Jenkins (1987), Kingdon (1971), Manley (1966), Oates (1984, 2011), Pimley (2002), Pimley et al. (2003, 2005a, 2005b), Pollock (1986d), Schwartz & Beutel (1995), Schwarz (1931b), Suckling et al. (1969), Walker (1968a, 1968b, 1969, 1970).
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