Abstract
Two recognized subspecies of slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus lydekkerianus and L. l. malabaricus, are endemic to Peninsular India. L. l. lydekkerianus has been reported from the drier forests of the Eastern Ghats south of the Godavari River, while L. l. malabaricus has been found in the wet forests of the Western Ghats south of the river Tapti. On the basis on confirmed sightings of individuals, we present a review of current understanding of the distribution and conservation status of India’s endemic slender loris subspecies. A possible third subspecies occupies a patchy distribution along the eastern foothills of the southern Western Ghats. To facilitate conservation planning, we modeled potential distributions for each recognized subspecies.
Resume
Deux sous-espèces reconnues de loris, Loris lydekkerianus lydekkerianus et L. l. malabaricus, sont endémiques de la Péninsule indienne. L. l. lydekkerianus a été signalé dans les forêts sèches des Ghâts orientaux, au sud du fleuve Godâvarî, alors que L. l. malabaricus a été trouvé dans les forêts humides des Ghâts occidentaux, au sud du fleuve Tapti. En nous fondant sur les observations directes, nous synthétisons l’information disponible concernant la distribution géographique et le statut de conservation des deux sous-espèces endémiques de loris indiens. Une possible troisième sous-espèce, à distribution discontinue, est rencontrée au pied des collines du sud des Ghâts occidentaux . Pour faciliter les plans de conservation, nous avons modélisé la distribution potentielle des sous-espèces reconnues.
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Ackowledgments
We thank the forest departments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh for research permits and the organizers of the South Africa Prosimians 2007 meeting for sponsorship to attend the conference. We thank R. Sasi for helping in the preparation of map. We thank the editors for their support in improving the chapter.
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Kumara, H.N., Singh, M., Irfan-Ullah, M., Kumar, S. (2012). Status, Distribution, and Conservation of Slender Lorises in India. In: Masters, J., Gamba, M., Génin, F. (eds) Leaping Ahead. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4511-1_38
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4511-1_38
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