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Bark and plant exudates such as tree sap are consumed by a few lemur species. The exploitation of exudates has been reported in 18 plant species and only in the dry regions in the south and west of Madagascar. Only the Masoala fork-marked lemur (Phaner furcifer) and Coquerel's giant mouse
The ring-tailed lemur was one of the first lemurs to be classified, by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.. Lemurs were first classified in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus, and the taxonomy remains controversial today, with approximately 70 to 100 species and subspecies recognized, depending on how the term "species" is defined.
The extinction of the largest lemurs is often attributed to predation by humans and possibly habitat destruction. [2] Since all extinct lemurs were not only large (and thus ideal prey species), but also slow-moving (and thus more vulnerable to human predation), their presumably slow-reproducing and low-density populations were least likely to ...
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] Evidence from the Subfossil records show that many of the now extinct lemurs actually lived in much drier climates than the currently extant lemurs.
In the western part of its range, the common brown lemur overlaps that of the mongoose lemur, and the two species sometimes travel together. [6] In the areas of overlap, the two species also adapt their activity patterns to avoid conflict. [8] For example, the mongoose lemur can become primarily nocturnal during the dry season in the areas of ...
The thick, furry tail is longer than the body, averaging 60 and 65 cm (24 and 26 in) in length [11] [14] [15] and is used primarily for balance while moving through the trees. Ruffed lemurs exhibit neither sexual dimorphism nor sexual dichromatism, [11] [15] and females have three pairs of mammary glands. [14] [15]
The spines are several meters above the ground, and probably evolved in response to herbivory by now-extinct lemurs, such as Hadropithecus. Several lemur species living today feed heavily on Alluaudia, such as the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and the white-footed sportive lemur (Lepilemur leucopus). [4]
The fur of the true lemurs is long and usually reddish brown. Often, sexual dimorphism in coloration (sexual dichromatism) is seen, such as in the black lemur. True lemurs are from 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20 in) in length, with a tail that is as long or significantly longer than the body. They weigh from 2 to 4 kg (4 to 9 lb).