Central African potto

Central African potto
Specimen at the Royal Museum for Central Africa
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Strepsirrhini
Family:	Lorisidae
Genus:	Perodicticus
Species:	P. edwardsi
Binomial name
Perodicticus edwardsi Bouvier, 1879
Synonyms
Perodicticus potto edwardsi Pseudopotto martini? Schwartz, 1996

The Central African potto (Perodicticus edwardsi) is a species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primate. It is found in Central Africa. It is also known as Milne-Edwards's potto, after Alphonse Milne-Edwards.

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered a subspecies of Perodicticus potto (now the West African potto), but a 2015 study split it into three species, and classified P. edwardsi as a distinct species. It is thought to be the sister species to the East African potto (Perodicticus ibeanus), from which it diverged during the late Miocene, about 5.5 million years ago.

The IUCN Red List considers to the mysterious "false potto" (Pseudopotto martini) to be a misidentified specimen of an East African potto, based on the rumored provenance of the individual being from Cameroon. In contrast, the American Society of Mammalogists considers the false potto to be a misidentified P. potto.

Distribution

This species ranges from Nigeria east to the Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo, and south to Angola. The Niger River serves as the western boundary of the species' range, separating it from the West African potto.

Conservation

This species is considered Least Concern by the IUCN Red List and is known to be an adaptable species, being found in both undisturbed and disturbed forests, even near human populations. However, localized declines may be taking place due to deforestation for agriculture and collection for the bushmeat trade.