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They are found exclusively on the island of Madagascar, primarily in forests but with some species also in savannas, shrublands, or wetlands. They range in size from the Margot Marsh's mouse lemur , at 8 cm (3 in) plus a 11 cm (4 in) tail, to the indri , at 90 cm (35 in) plus a 6 cm (2 in) tail.
The highly seasonal dry deciduous forest of Madagascar alternates between dry and wet seasons, making it uniquely suitable for lemurs. Lemur species diversity increases as the number of tree species in an area increase and is also higher in forests that have been disturbed over undisturbed areas. [12]
The silky sifaka is one of over 100 known species and subspecies of lemur found only in Madagascar. [7]Madagascar's isolation from other land masses throughout the Cenozoic Era has led to the evolution of a large proportion of endemic animal species and the absence of many taxa found on neighboring continents.
This is a list of the native wild mammal species recorded in Madagascar.As of June 2014 (following the IUCN reassessment of the lemurs) there are 241 extant mammal species recognized in Madagascar, of which 22 are critically endangered, 62 are endangered, 32 are vulnerable, 9 are near threatened, 72 are of least concern and 44 are either data deficient or not evaluated.
Some lemur species have extensive vocal repertoires, including the ring-tailed lemur and ruffed lemurs. [89] [117] Some of the most common calls among lemurs are predator alarm calls. Lemurs not only respond to alarm calls of their own species, but also alarm calls of other species and those of non-predatory birds.
Lemurs of Madagascar is published by Conservation International (CI), a non-profit conservation organization headquartered near Washington, D.C., and is intended as a field guide that identifies all of the known lemur species from Madagascar. [1] The first edition was published in 1994 and contained 356 pages.
The black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata) is an endangered species of ruffed lemur, one of two which are endemic to the island of Madagascar.Despite having a larger range than the red ruffed lemur, it has a much smaller population that is spread out, living in lower population densities and reproductively isolated.
The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is a medium- to larger-sized strepsirrhine (wet-nosed) primate and the most internationally recognized lemur species, owing to its long, black-and-white, ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the Lemur genus.