Potto: "Miller's fingers" and neck spikes. Rare primate with special abilities (8 photos)

An eternally shabby look, strong hands with an incomplete set of fingers and an irresistible love for wood. It’s amazing how Potto, a primate from the African jungle, looks like the typical Trudovik Uncle Vasya from the neighboring school!





Okay, this is all a joke. In fact, our hero looks like a mix of a cat and a teddy bear, generated by artificial intelligence. It seems cute, but at the same time... strange. The size of the animal is small - an adult potto can easily fit in your arms. But you won’t be able to squeeze this bug-eyed miracle. You're not a fool to climb trees 30 meters high, are you? At night.



The animal is active exclusively in the dark. Don't worry about the potto itself. Giant crazy eyes will show him the way in the darkness, and his paws are something special. Don't be fooled by the fact that the animal is missing one finger - this is not a bug, but a feature. This structure of the hand makes the primate’s grip steely: the animal cannot be torn off the branches even with brute force.





But Potto himself does not neglect brute force either. A primate with an appetite will imprison a bat or a bird. True, the main diet still consists of fruits and insects. He became so adept at eating the latter that he learned to eat poisonous and stinking insects, which other animals disdain.



For those who decided to hunt the potto himself, the primate prepared a small surprise - a small bump on the neck. There are two things sticking out of it: spikes and whiskers. The first are elongated sections of the cervical vertebrae that protrude from under the skin.

In the treetops, pottos are most often hunted only by birds. The growths on the neck act like a speed bump for a reckless driver. If the driver does not want to lose his suspension, he slows down. If a bird doesn't want to hurt its feet, it doesn't hunt the potto.



Potto's spines are invisible due to its thick coat. This is where all the cunning of small animals lies.

Why does a primate need a mustache on the back of his neck? To feel the approach of these same predators! Whiskers, also known as vibrissae, are supersensitive hairs. For animals they are one of the organs of touch. Therefore, Potto can quite deservedly boast that he has eyes growing on the back of his head.



Parkour, parkour is a new movement, a way of self-expression. The youth movement is worthy of respect!

Eyes on the back of the head are a necessary thing, because not only predators, but also relatives can stab you in the back. Each animal has its own area. Ladies get by with properties of 9 hectares, guys need territories 5 times larger. Potto males are still owners; they will not tolerate the presence of a competitor on their territory. But the neighbor will be only welcome. After all, you can invite them for tea and cake.



What about the children? A new mother carries her baby for 170 days, and then protects and cares for it in every possible way for 3-4 months. Initially, the little potto rests on his stomach, and then crawls onto his back and sits on his mother’s neck. Literally. He leaves his parent at the age of six months.



A spiky primate with milling fingers and eyes in the back of its head sounds like the ravings of a madman. But now you know that such animals really exist!