The pottos are three species of strepsirrhine primate in the genus Perodicticus of the family Lorisidae. In some English-speaking parts of Africa, they are called "softly-softlys".
Etymology
The common name "potto" may be from Wolof (a tailless monkey).
The generic name Perodicticus is composed of Greek (, 'maimed') and (, "able to show/indicate", cf. , , 'index finger'). It refers to the stubby index finger that seems mutilated.
Taxonomy
There are three species recognized by the IUCN Red List and American Society of Mammalogists:
Formerly, all species were classified under one species, P. potto. However, variation among pottos is significant, prompting speculation that there may be more than one species. A 2015 study confirmed there to be three distinct potto species with deep genetic divergence dating to the Miocene for all three species.
A few closely related species also have "potto" in their names: the two golden potto species (also known as angwantibos) and the false potto. Although it has been suggested that the differences that separate the false potto from the West African potto are a result of an anomalous specimen being used as the holotype which may have been a West African potto.
The Central and South American kinkajou (Potos flavus) and olingos (Bassaricyon sp.) are similar in appearance and behavior to African pottos, and were formerly classified with them (hence Potos). Olingos and kinkajous are now known to be members of the raccoon family.