Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Color print of the two ruffed lemur species from Alfred Grandidier's L'Histoire politique, physique et naturelle de Madagascar. (1892) The ruffed lemur genus, Varecia, is a member of the family Lemuridae. The extinct genus, Pachylemur most closely resembled the ruffed lemurs but died out after the arrival of humans.
Red ruffed lemur in detail. Ruffed lemurs are the largest members of the family Lemuridae, [4] with this species being the larger of the two. They weigh 3.3–3.6 kg (7.3–7.9 lb). [5] They are about 53 cm (21 in) long, with a 60 cm (24 in) tail. [6] Females are slightly larger than males. [7]
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. Lemuroids primarily eat fruit, leaves, and insects. Most lemuroids do not have population estimates, but the ones that do range from 40 mature individuals to 5,000.
Three subspecies of black-and-white ruffed lemur have been recognized since the red ruffed lemur was elevated to species status in 2001. [5] Together with the red ruffed lemur, they are the largest extant members of the family Lemuridae, ranging in length from 100 to 120 cm (3.3 to 3.9 ft) and weighing between 3.1 and 4.1 kg (6.8 and 9.0 lb).
Only the ring-tailed lemur, the bamboo lemurs (genus Hapalemur), and the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata) are known to consume herbs. While Madagascar is rich in fern diversity, these plants are rarely eaten by lemurs. One possible reason for this is that ferns lack flowers, fruits, and seeds—common food items in lemur diets.
A lemur's diet is one that is not restricted since their diet consists of frugivory, granivory, folivory, insectivory, omnivory, and gumnivory foods. Some Subfossil records have contributed to the knowledge of the currently extant lemurs from the Holocene by showing the changes in their dental records in habitats near human activity.
A gummivore is an omnivorous animal whose diet consists primarily of the gums [clarification needed] and saps of trees (about 90%) and insects for protein. [1] Notable gummivores include arboreal, terrestrial primates like certain marmosets and lemurs.
The name Pachylemur was introduced for these animals in 1948 by Charles Lamberton, who grouped Lemur insignis, Lemur majori, and Lemur jullyi in a subgenus of the genus Lemur. [18] Since 1979, Pachylemur has generally been regarded as a distinct genus, but some classifications include the genus in Lemur or the ruffed lemur genus Varecia.