False potto
| False potto | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification (disputed) | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Strepsirrhini |
| Family: | Lorisidae |
| Subfamily: | Perodictictinae |
| Genus: |
Pseudopotto Schwartz, 1996 |
| Species: | P. martini |
| Binomial name | |
|
Pseudopotto martini Schwartz, 1996 |
|
The false potto (Pseudopotto martini) is a lorisoid primate of uncertain taxonomic status found in Africa. Anthropologist Jeffrey H. Schwartz named it in 1996 as the only species of the genus Pseudopotto on the basis of two specimens (consisting only of skeletal material) that had previously been identified as pottos (Perodicticus potto). The precise provenances of the two specimens are uncertain, but at least one may have come from Cameroon. Schwartz thought the false potto could even represent a separate family, but other researchers have argued that the supposed distinguishing features of the animal do not actually distinguish it from the potto; specifically, the false potto shares several features with West African pottos.
The false potto generally resembles a small potto, but according to Schwartz it differs in having a longer tail, shorter spines on its neck and chest vertebrae, a smaller, less complex spine on the second neck vertebra, an entepicondylar foramen (an opening in the humerus, or upper arm bone), a lacrimal fossa (a depression in the skull) that is located inside the eye socket, a smaller upper third premolar and molar, and higher-crowned cheekteeth, among other traits. However, many of these traits are variable among pottos; for example, one researcher found entepicondylar foramina in almost half of the specimens in his sample of pottos.
In a series of potto (Perodicticus potto) skeletons in the collections of the Anthropological Institute and Museum of the University of Zurich at Irchel, anthropologist Jeffrey H. Schwartz recognized two specimens with traits he believed distinct from all pottos, and in 1996 he used these two specimens to describe a new genus and species of primate, Pseudopotto martini. The generic name, Pseudopotto, combines the element pseudo- (Greek for "false") with "potto", referring to superficial similarities between the new form and the potto. The specific name, martini, honors primatologist Robert D. Martin. The exact provenance of the two specimens is unknown, and one is represented by a complete skeleton (but no skin) and the other by a skull only. Schwartz placed both specimens in a single species, but noted that further study might indicate that the two represent distinct species. He thought the relationships of the new form were unknown and difficult to assess and did not assign it to any family, but provisionally placed it closest to the family Lorisidae, together with the potto, the angwantibos, and the lorises. The discovery, published in the Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, was featured in Scientific American and Science; the Science account noted that Schwartz thought Pseudopotto may represent a new family of primates.
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