Angwantibos are two species of

strepsirrhine Strepsirrhini or Strepsirhini (; ) is a suborder of primates that includes the lemuriform primates, which consist of the lemurs of Madagascar, galagos ("bushbabies") and pottos from Africa, and the lorises from India and southeast Asia. Collec ...

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s classified in the genus ''Arctocebus'' of the family

Lorisidae Lorisidae (or sometimes Loridae) is a family of strepsirrhine primates. The lorisids are all slim arboreal animals and comprise the lorises, pottos and angwantibos. Lorisids live in tropical, central Africa as well as in south and southeast Asia. ...

. They are also known as golden pottos because of their yellow or golden coloration. Angwantibos live in tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and their range includes

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

north of the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Angwantibos grow to a size of 22 to 30 cm, and have almost no tail at all. They only weigh up to 0.5 kg. Their fur is yellow brown to golden in color. Their snout is more pointed than that of the other lorids and this, along with their round ears, gives it the bear-like appearance that lends them their name in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Bärenmaki'', "bear lemur". Solitary,

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

, they prefer the underbrush and the lower layers of the forests. They spend the day hidden in the leaves. Like all lorisids they are characterized by slow movements. The diet of angwantibos consists predominantly of insects (mostly caterpillars), and occasionally fruits. Owing to their careful movements and their good sense of smell, they can quietly stalk and close-in on their prey and catch it with a lightning-quick movement. The males mate with all available females whose

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

overlaps with theirs.

Copulation Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetra ...

takes place hanging onto a branch. Gestation lasts 130 days and births are of a single offspring. The juvenile clasps itself first to the belly of the mother and later she may park her offspring on a branch while she goes searching for food. Within three to four months the young are weaned, at about six months it leaves its mother, and at an age of eight to ten months it becomes fully mature. The life expectancy of angwantibos is at most 13 years. A subplot in

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island ...

's first book ''

The Overloaded Ark ''The Overloaded Ark'', first published in 1953, is the debut book by British naturalist Gerald Durrell. It is the chronicle of a six-month collecting trip, from December 1947 to August 1948, to the West African colony of British Cameroonnow Camero ...

'' centres on his attempts to secure an angwantibo for zoological study.

Species

* Genus ''Arctocebus'' **

Calabar angwantibo The Calabar angwantibo (''Arctocebus calabarensis''), also known as the Calabar potto, is a strepsirrhine primate of the family Lorisidae. It shares the genus '' Arctocebus'' with the golden angwantibo (''Arctocebus aureus''). It is closely rela ...

, ''Arctocebus calabarensis'' **

Golden angwantibo The golden angwantibo (''Arctocebus aureus'') is a strepsirrhine primate of the family Lorisidae. It shares the genus '' Arctocebus'' with the Calabar angwantibo (''Arctocebus calabarensis'') and together they are commonly called the golden potto ...

, ''Arctocebus aureus''

References

External links

Primate Info Net ''Arctocebus'' Factsheets
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1019157 Lorises Mammals of Cameroon Mammals of West Africa Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo