_Loris gracilis_, Geoffr., Magas. Encycl. Ann. 4, i., p. 48 (1796); id.
Catal., p. 37, no. 1 (1803); id. Ann. Mus., xix., p. 163 (1812); Is.
Geoffr., Cat. Méth. Primates, p. 79 (1851); Blyth, Cat. Mamm. As. Soc.,
p. 19 (1863); Anderson, Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus., p. 97 (1881); Blanf., Faun.
Brit. Ind. Mamm., p. 47 (1888).
_Nycticebus gracilis_, Fischer, Syn. Mamm., p. 70 (1829); Schl., Mus.
Pays Bas, vii., p. 284 (1876).
_Stenops tardigradus_, Illiger, Prodr. Syst. Mamm., p. 73 (1811, pt.).
_Stenops gracilis_, Van der Hoeven, Tijdschr., Nat. Ges., xi., p. 39
(1844); Kelaart, Prod. Fauna Zeyl., p. 9 (1852).
CHARACTERS.--A slender-bodied animal covered with close, soft, and woolly
fur. Head short and round; eyes very large; nose narrow and much pointed;
ears small and haired externally; tips nude. Limbs long, remarkably slender
and angularly bent; hands and feet covered with short hair; index-finger
with three phalanges and finger-bones.
Skull with eye-sockets closely approximating, in the centre separated only
by a thin plate of bone; nasal and premaxillary bones prolonged forward to
support the narrow pointed nose; cranium, along its base to end of nasal
bones, two inches long, broader across the orbits than behind in front of
the articulation of lower jaw; bony palate extending back beyond the
{32}posterior molar tooth. In the upper jaw the incisors are small and
equal (Fig. 6); posterior pre-molar similar to, but smaller than the
anterior molar; anterior molar with the oblique ridge on crown well
developed; crown of posterior molar four-cusped, that of the posterior
lower molar five-cusped. Dorsal and lumbar vertebræ together, 23; caudal
vertebræ, 6-8.
The alimentary canal is four times the length of the body.
ADULT.--Dingy grey above, darker on back, paler on lower back; the hairs
tipped with white. Sides of body, outside of fore- and hind-limbs dingy
white, with a faint rufous wash on the outside of the hind-limbs. Face and
ring round eyes dark greyish-brown; streak along nose white, branching on
forehead above the eyes on each side into a broad ring encircling the dark
ocular ring; this frontal branch sometimes absent. Under side
greyish-white. Hairs of fur greyish-white at base, dark in the middle, and
tipped with white. Length, 8 inches.
YOUNG.--More rust-coloured than the adult.
DISTRIBUTION.--The Slender Loris is common in the lower forests of Ceylon
and of Southern India, south of the Godaveri river, as well as in those of
the Eastern Ghats.
HABITS.--This curious, emaciated-looking, little creature is nocturnal,
living entirely in trees. It sleeps during the day rolled up in a ball,
with its head between its legs, grasping its perch with its hands.
According to Jerdon these animals are occasionally brought in large numbers
to the Madras market, their eyes being a favourite remedy of the Tamil
doctors for ophthalmic diseases.
In its movements it is slightly more active than the Slow-Loris. Its food
consists of succulent leaves, honey, insects, birds' eggs, and small
animals.