Book contents
- Evolution, Ecology and Conservation of Lorises and Pottos
- Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology
- Evolution, Ecology and Conservation of Lorises and Pottos
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Evolution, Morphology and the Fossil Record
- Part II Ecology and Captive Management
- 13 Nutrition of Lorisiformes
- 14 Seeing in the Dark
- 15 Thermoregulation in Lorises
- 16 Home Range, Activity Budgets and Habitat Use in the Bengal Slow Loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) in Bangladesh
- 17 Behaviour of Pottos and Angwantibos
- 18 Positional Behaviour and Substrate Preference of Slow Lorises, with a Case Study of Nycticebus bengalensis in Northeast India
- 19 Sexual Differences in Feeding and Foraging of Released Philippine Slow Loris (Nycticebus menagensis)
- 20 Ranging Patterns of the Pygmy Slow Loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) in a Mixed Deciduous Forest in Eastern Cambodia
- 21 Utilising Current and Historical Zoo Records to Provide an Insight into the Captive Biology of the Rarely Kept Species Pottos and Angwantibos
- 22 Mother–Infant Behaviours in Greater Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang) Dyads Consisting of Mothers Pregnant at Confiscation and Their Sanctuary-Born Infants
- 23 Husbandry and Reproductive Management Recommendations for Captive Lorises and Pottos (Nycticebus, Loris and Perodicticus)
- Part III Research, Trade and Conservation
- References
- Index
14 - Seeing in the Dark
Visual Function and Ecology of Lorises and Pottos
from Part II - Ecology and Captive Management
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 February 2020
- Evolution, Ecology and Conservation of Lorises and Pottos
- Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology
- Evolution, Ecology and Conservation of Lorises and Pottos
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Evolution, Morphology and the Fossil Record
- Part II Ecology and Captive Management
- 13 Nutrition of Lorisiformes
- 14 Seeing in the Dark
- 15 Thermoregulation in Lorises
- 16 Home Range, Activity Budgets and Habitat Use in the Bengal Slow Loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) in Bangladesh
- 17 Behaviour of Pottos and Angwantibos
- 18 Positional Behaviour and Substrate Preference of Slow Lorises, with a Case Study of Nycticebus bengalensis in Northeast India
- 19 Sexual Differences in Feeding and Foraging of Released Philippine Slow Loris (Nycticebus menagensis)
- 20 Ranging Patterns of the Pygmy Slow Loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus) in a Mixed Deciduous Forest in Eastern Cambodia
- 21 Utilising Current and Historical Zoo Records to Provide an Insight into the Captive Biology of the Rarely Kept Species Pottos and Angwantibos
- 22 Mother–Infant Behaviours in Greater Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang) Dyads Consisting of Mothers Pregnant at Confiscation and Their Sanctuary-Born Infants
- 23 Husbandry and Reproductive Management Recommendations for Captive Lorises and Pottos (Nycticebus, Loris and Perodicticus)
- Part III Research, Trade and Conservation
- References
- Index
Summary
Primates are often distinguished from other mammals by their greater emphasis on vision relative to other senses (Cartmill, 1992; Kirk, 2013). Many of the defining traits of early primates are adaptations of the visual system, such as a postorbital bar, greater orbital convergence and larger eyes (Heesy, 2008; Kay and Kirk, 2000; Kirk, 2013; Ross and Kirk, 2007). In comparative studies of extant mammals, primates are typically characterised by higher estimates of visual acuity (i.e. the ability to resolve fine details) and greater variation in colour vision and opsin genes (Jacobs, 2008, 2013; Kirk and Kay, 2004; Veilleux 2016; Veilleux and Kirk, 2009, 2014). Consequently, most hypotheses of primate evolutionary origins involve identifying ecological factors that selected for this increased visual performance in early primates. Given that most of these hypotheses propose a nocturnal niche (e.g. Cartmill, 1992; Rasmussen, 1990a; Sussman, 1991), identifying and understanding variation in visual function and ecology among nocturnal primates is particularly important.
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- Evolution, Ecology and Conservation of Lorises and Pottos , pp. 174 - 186Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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