Lemurs
Lemurs are small-headed, wet-nosed mammals belonging to the order Primates, in which monkeys, apes, and humans lie. Although they resemble primates, they evolved independently from monkeys and apes. They are endemic to the island of Madagascar, where they developed and produced diverse species that are competitive with any other primate.
Scientific Classification of Lemur
Kingdom | Animalia |
Phylum | Chordata |
Class | Mammalia |
Order | Primates |
Superfamily | Lemuroidea |
Different Species of Lemurs
Lemurs have a complex taxonomy due to their diversification of species. About 105 species of lemurs are known, and scientists are continuously trying to describe the more species. These hundred-plus living species of lemur are classified into five families and 15 genera.
Family | Description |
Lemuridae | It is the most prominent family of lemurs, known as true lemurs, described in the next topic. |
Avahis | It consists of lemurs with long legs, short arms, short noses and ears, and furry red tails. Ears are fully covered with fur. Their fur is light grey with a creamy touch. |
Sifakas | They are leaping lemurs with large eyes and long ears. They have white fur with different markings, such as black, golden and silver. |
Indri | They are leaping lemurs with long legs and short arms, but their tail is too short. It is called a rudimentary tail. |
Aye-aye | These are the small squirrel-like primates. Their hands (not arms) are long with slender fingers. They have ever-growing incisors like rodents. |
What are the “True Lemurs”?
Only Lemuridae are termed “true lemurs” of five families because they fulfill their definition and characteristics. They have Long arms and long legs, a long pointed nose, silky and shiny woolly fur, encircled ears and tufts of fur on the tips of ears. In comparison, other lemur families have a slight difference in anatomy.
Ring-tailed lemur |
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Brown lemur |
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Bamboo lemur |
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Greater Bamboo lemur |
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Ruffed lemur |
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Fact: Only 20 species within the five genera of the Lemuridae family are true lemurs.
Physical Characteristics
Size and Weight: Size varies with the species, but most lemurs are small-sized. The extant lemurs weigh between 30 grams (mouse lemur) to 9 kilograms (Indri). In contrast, Gorilla-sized lemurs have been extinct since 2000 years ago.
Speed: These small primates are fast-paced and can run up to 12 miles per hour.
Head and Eyes: They have small-sized heads or cephalized heads. Their eyes are large and bulging. Eyes are orange-red or yellow. Ring-tailed lemurs have black holes around the eyes.
Body and Tail: Lemurs have monkey-like slender bodies with large limbs and long, furry tails. Tails are large enough and surpass their body.
Dentition: Dentition is different within the families from 18 to 36. During their lifetime, they have two complete sets of teeth, the first being baby teeth, which permanent ones replace as in humans.
Fur Coloration: Lemurs have a body covered with heavy fur. Fur colour ranges from white to black, grey, brown, red, and silver. They have colourful markings and stripes on the coat and tail. The most popular lemur is the ring-tailed lemur, whose tail has black ring-like markings.
Lemur Size and Weight
Lemur Head and Eyes
Lemur Body and Tail
Distribution and Habitat
These sharp-eyed animals are found only in one area of the world, Madagascar. Madagascar is an island country lying on the Southeast coast of Africa. It is the world’s fourth-largest and second-largest island country, also known as a biodiversity hotspot. Few species are found in the nearest Comoro Islands.
They are unique in their habitat selection. They inhabit all natural parts of the island, such as wetlands, marshlands, rainforests with dense trees, dry deciduous forests, high mountains, and the spiny desert.
Diet and Digestion
These primates have a dual-feeding nature. The large species are herbivores and eat fruits, leaves, bark, shrubs, flowers, tree bark, and sap. The small species are omnivores and feed on plant diets, small reptiles, mammals, and even small birds and their eggs. Like other plant-eating mammals, they cannot digest the cellulose and rely on their gut bacteria for digestion. The gut microbes ferment their food, and it takes five to seven hours for lemurs to digest.
Behavioral adaptations
Social Behaviour
Lemurs are solitary but social animals and live in groups of 10 to 12 individuals. The group is called a troop. They are both diurnal and nocturnal. The nocturnal lemurs, including sportive and fork-marked lemurs, do solitary foraging at night while living with groups during the day.
In comparison, diurnal lemurs, including true lemurs, form permanent social structures. The unique thing about lemur’s social structure is a female dominance hierarchy. Females lead the group and are also philanthropic to the females of other groups. They share their nests and help in the nursing of the young.
Locomotion
Don’t confuse locomotion with migration. The movement of limbs and hands exhibit various moves, such as jumping, swimming, running etc. Although lemurs are not good swimmers, one of the true lemurs, the Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, is reported to be a good swimmer. The Indris and Sifakas are known for their jumping. Their leaping attracts tourists to Madagascar.
Communication
Lemurs use various modes of communication such as scent marking, smell, visual and vocalisations. These modes are different among the species. Males secrete perfume on their wrists to attract females, which is something like humans. Every species uses its vocabulary to alert group members from predators, stay away from the territory, and communicate with other members.
Defensive behaviour
Their predators are fossas and birds of prey, such as hawks and owls. Lemurs huddle and sleep in the forks of trees to avoid predators and keep calm. They have hands and nails like humans. With the help of these nails, they scratch the predators or even bite them.
Reproduction and Parenting
Lemurs are developed to do seasonal breeding. It may vary within the species. They develop sexual maturity at one to three years, depending on the species. The gestation period is different for the lemurs: It’s sixty-five to seventy days (9 weeks) for mouse lemurs and 140 to 170 days for other lemurs including ring-tailed, sportive, aye-aye lemurs.
They usually give birth to one young per litter, but twins to six babies are also reported. They lactate the young for two to three months. Female nurses are their own young as well as other female babies. Females and males are also observed in the infant nursing.
Mortality rate and Lifespan
The mortality rate of lemurs is high in the wild due to environmental pressures and predation. The infant mortality rate is 50%, while it becomes 20% at the age of ten to twelve years. The Lifespan of lemurs is sixteen to eighteen years in the wild. In captivity, their Lifespan increases up to thirty years.
Ecological Importance
Lemurs are not only playful mammals but also have great ecological importance. They are called the creators of the forests as they do the job of seed dispersal in the swinging zones of Madagascar. Their pooping behaviour improves the soil quality. They sap the nectar and act as pollinators. They are the keystone species of Madagascar.
Conservation Status and Efforts
About 90% of species of lemurs are listed as critically endangered, according to IUCN. The common threats are deforestation, hunting for meat, and climate change. The action plan for their protection is submitted to the Conservation Society of Madagascar, and the conservation process is initiated. Sixteen species of lemurs are being conserved, and further efforts are being made.
Lemur Fun Facts
1- Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy, named these animals lemurs. It originated from the Latin term lemures, which means ghosts. They are named because of their nocturnal activities and slow movements.
2- One species of lemur is blue-eyed, like humans. It is the only primate with blue eyes other than humans.
3- Mouse lemurs are too small, and you can even take a whole family in your palm.
4- Red ruffed lemurs groom or comb each other with six comb teeth.
5- They are called creators of the forest due to the great dispersal of seeds.
Cultural Value
In Malagasy Culture
Before spitting myths about lemurs in this culture, we are telling you what Malagasy is. It is a clan that originated from Indonesia and Africa but inhabited Madagascar. In Malagasy culture, it is a common belief or taboo that lemurs are the ancestors of humans, and they have revengeable souls. They get revenge if killed or mocked by anyone and related to bad luck. That’s why people avoid interacting with them. In contrast, it is beneficial for lemurs.
In Western Culture
Do you remember the movie Madagascar, in which these playful and cute primates were featured? The movie was animated by Dreamworks and featured characters King Julien, a ring-tailed lemur, Maurice the aye-aye, and Mort, a mouse lemur. Further animations are made to educate children about these diverse animals. It reflects that these cute primates are famous not only in Africa but also in Western culture.
FAQs- Frequently Asked Questions
Learn More About Lemur
Welcome to our page dedicated to the fascinating behaviors of lemurs. Here, you’ll find articles that answer common questions about lemurs, such as what they eat, when they’re most active, their social interactions, mating habits, and how they interact with their environment.
Scroll down to explore more about the unique behaviors of lemurs and uncover the reasons behind their intriguing actions.
Common Brown Lemur
Introduction to Common Brown Lemur The common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus) is one of Madagascar’s most widespread lemur species. For
Ring-Tailed Lemur
The ring-tailed lemur is one of the most recognizable animals in the world, thanks to its unique tail with 13