Cheirogaleidae is the family of strepsirrhine
primateA primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, lorisids, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including great apes. With the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent on Earth, most primates live in tropical or subtropical...
s that contains the various dwarf and mouse lemurs. Like all other
lemurA lemur is a member of the biological infraorder Lemuriformes, a prosimian and strepsirrhine primate that is endemic to the island of Madagascar. The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night" or "haunter". This likely refers to their large, reflective eyes...
s,
cheirogaleids live exclusively on the island of
MadagascarMadagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to...
.
Cheirogaleids are smaller than the other lemurs and, in fact, they are the smallest primates. They have a soft, long fur colored grey-brown to reddish on top with a generally brighter underbelly. Typically they have small ears, large, close set eyes, and long hind legs.
Cheirogaleidae is the family of strepsirrhine
primateA primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, lorisids, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including great apes. With the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent on Earth, most primates live in tropical or subtropical...
s that contains the various dwarf and mouse lemurs. Like all other
lemurA lemur is a member of the biological infraorder Lemuriformes, a prosimian and strepsirrhine primate that is endemic to the island of Madagascar. The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night" or "haunter". This likely refers to their large, reflective eyes...
s,
cheirogaleids live exclusively on the island of
MadagascarMadagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to...
.
Characteristics
Cheirogaleids are smaller than the other lemurs and, in fact, they are the smallest primates. They have a soft, long fur colored grey-brown to reddish on top with a generally brighter underbelly. Typically they have small ears, large, close set eyes, and long hind legs. Like all strepsirrhines they have fine claws at the second toe of the hind legs. They grow to a size of only 13 to 28 cm, with a tail that is very long, sometimes up to one and a half times as long as the body. They weigh no more than 500 grams, with some species weighing as little as 60 grams.
Dwarf and mouse lemurs are nocturnal and arboreal. They are excellent climbers and can also jump far, using their long tail for balance. When on the ground (a rare occurrence) they move by hopping on their hind legs. They spend the day in tree hollows or home-made nests. Cheirogaleids are typically solitary but sometimes live together in pairs.
Their eyes possess a
tapetum lucidumThe tapetum lucidum is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrate animals, that lies immediately behind or sometimes within the retina. It reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light available to the photoreceptors...
, a light-reflecting layer that improves their night vision. Some species, such as the
Lesser Dwarf LemurThe Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur , or Lesser Dwarf Lemur, is one of the smallest primates. It is endemic to Madagascar....
, store fat at the hind legs and the base of the tail and hibernate. Unlike
lemuridLemuridae is a family of prosimian primates native to Madagascar, and one of five families commonly known as lemurs. These animals were thought to be the evolutionary predecessors of monkeys and apes, but this is no longer considered correct...
s, they have long upper
incisorIncisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and mandible below.-Function:...
s, although they do have the comb-like teeth typical of all strepsirhines. They have the
dental formulaDentition is the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth.All mammals except the monotremes, the xenarthrans, the pangolins, and the cetaceans have up to four distinct types of teeth, with a maximum number for each. These are the incisor , the canine, the premolar, and the molar ...
:
Cheirogaleids are
omnivoreOmnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
s, eating fruits, flowers and leaves (and sometimes nectar) as well as insects, spiders and small vertebrates.
The females usually have three pairs of nipples. After a meager 60 day gestation, they will bear two to four (usually two or three) young. After five to six weeks these are weaned and become fully mature near the end of their first year or sometime in their second year, depending on the species. In human care, they can live for up to 15 years, although their life expectancy in the wild is probably significantly shorter.
Classification
The five
generaIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
of cheirogaleids contain 32
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
.
- Infraorder Lemuriformes
- Family Cheirogaleidae
- Genus Cheirogaleus: dwarf lemurs
- C. medius group
- Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus medius
- Southern Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur
The Southern Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur , also known as the Spiny Desert Dwarf Lemur, is found only on the island of Madagascar. This species is known from Fort Dauphin.Like other fat-tailed lemurs, C...
, Cheirogaleus adipicaudatus
- C. major group
- Greater Dwarf Lemur
The Greater Dwarf Lemur is a lemur that is widely distributed over the primary and secondary forests near the eastern coast of MadagascarIts fur is grey or reddish brown, and there are dark circles around the eyes...
, Cheirogaleus major
- Furry-eared Dwarf Lemur
The Furry-eared Dwarf Lemur is, like other lemurs, only found on the island of Madagascar. It has a pelage coloration that is red-brown dorsally and gray ventrally. The eye-rings of this species are blackish and the ears are black inside and out. The dental formula of this species is 2:1:3:3 on...
, Cheirogaleus crossleyi
- Lesser Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur
The Lesser Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur is a small nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar.C. minusculus has a pelage coloration that is similar to C. ravus.This species is only known from Ambositra....
, Cheirogaleus minusculus
- Greater Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur
The Greater Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur is a small nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar.Cheirogaleus ravus has a pelage coloration that is iron-gray with brownish tones. a vague dorsal stripe. The feet are colored white and the tail is like the body with a white tip...
, Cheirogaleus ravus
- Sibree's Dwarf Lemur
The Sibree's Dwarf Lemur is a small nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar.The name of this dwarf lemur commemorates the English missionary and naturalist James Sibree ....
, Cheirogaleus sibreei
- Genus Microcebus: mouse lemurs
- Gray Mouse Lemur
The Gray Mouse Lemur is a small Strepsirrhine primate, found only on the island of Madagascar. Weighing , it is the largest mouse lemur, yet smaller than the world's smallest monkey, the Pygmy Marmoset, which ranges between...
, Microcebus murinus
- Reddish-gray Mouse Lemur
The Reddish-gray Mouse Lemur also known as the Gray-brown Mouse Lemur, is found in Western Madagascar in the region around Beza Mahafaly Reserve, north to Lamboharana....
, Microcebus griseorufus
- Golden-brown Mouse Lemur, Microcebus ravelobensis
- Northern Rufous Mouse Lemur
The Northern Rufous Mouse Lemur , Northern Brown Mouse Lemur, or Tavaratra Mouse Lemur is found in North-western Madagascar in Ankarana Reserve....
, Microcebus tavaratra
- Sambirano Mouse Lemur
The Sambirano Mouse Lemur is a small, recently discovered primate, and like the other mouse lemurs can only be found on the island of Madagascar. The dorsal side is both cinnamon and rufous-cinnamon, and is grey ventrally...
, Microcebus sambiranensis
- Simmons' Mouse Lemur
Simmons' Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur known only from Betampona Special Reserve and Zahamena National Park in Madagascar....
, Microcebus simmonsi
- Pygmy Mouse Lemur, Microcebus myoxinus
- Brown Mouse Lemur, Microcebus rufus
- Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur
Berthe's Mouse Lemur is the smallest of the mouse lemurs and the smallest primate in the world; the average body length is and seasonal weight is around . It is found in the Kirindy Mitea National Park in Western Madagascar....
, Microcebus berthae
- Goodman's Mouse Lemur
Goodman's Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur from Andasibe in eastern Madagascar. It is thought to have diverged from other mouse lemurs in the region about 2 million years ago....
, Microcebus lehilahytsara
- Jolly's Mouse Lemur
Jolly's Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur from Mananjary and Kianjavato in Madagascar.The species is named in honor of primatologist Alison Jolly....
, Microcebus jollyae
- MacArthur's Mouse Lemur
MacArthur's Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur known only from an Inter-River-System in the eastern Makira Natural Park in Madagascar....
, Microcebus macarthurii
- Mittermeier's Mouse Lemur
Mittermeier's Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur known only from Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve in Madagascar....
, Microcebus mittermeieri
- Claire's Mouse Lemur
Claire's Mouse Lemur is a newly described species of lemur from the genus of the mouse lemurs . It lives only on the island Nosy Bé in the Antsiranana province of Madagascar. The scientific type name, mamiratra, comes from Malagasy and means "clear and bright"; this refers the Theodore F. and...
, Microcebus mamiratra
- Bongolava Mouse Lemur
The Bongolava Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur endemic to Madagascar. It lives in western deciduous forest within a limited range, including Bongolava Forest and Ambodimahabibo Forest between the Sofia River and the Mahajamba River...
, Microcebus bongolavensis
- Danfoss' Mouse Lemur
Danfoss' Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur endemic to Madagascar. It lives in western deciduous forest within a limited range between the Sofia River and the Maevarano River. It is a relatively large reddish mouse lemur with a total length of 25 to 29 centimeters, including 15 to 17...
, Microcebus danfossi
- Arnhold's Mouse Lemur
Arnhold's Mouse Lemur or Montagne d’Ambre Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur endemic to Madagascar. Its holotype was first collected on 27 November 2005, and was first described in 2008. According to genetic tests, it is genetically distinct from its closest sister taxa, the Sambirano Mouse...
, Microcebus arnholdi
- Margot Marsh's Mouse Lemur
Margot Marsh's Mouse Lemur or the Antafondro mouse lemur is a species of mouse lemur endemic to Madagascar. Its holotype was first collected on 21 May 2006, proposed in 2006 by Andriantompohavana et al., and was formally described in 2008 by E...
, Microcebus margotmarshae
- Lokobe Mouse Lemur
The Lokobe Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur endemic to Madagascar. It is only known from humid forest on the island of Nosy Be and on the mainland near the village of Manehoka, including Lokobe Reserve. The type locality is the Lokobe Reserve, with the same type location as Claire's Mouse...
, Microcebus lokobensis
- Genus Mirza
The giant mouse lemurs are two small lemur species native to the western deciduous forests of Madagascar, usually located near the coast or other sources of water. They are an olive-brown colour dorsally, and are yellowish-grey ventrally...
: giant mouse lemurs
- Coquerel's Giant Mouse Lemur or Coquerel's Dwarf Lemur, Mirza coquereli
- Northern Giant Mouse Lemur
The Northern Giant Mouse Lemur was discovered to be a species in 2005 by Kappeler et al. from the German primates centre and the University of Göttingen. Before, both populations of giant mouse lemurs were believed to belong to one species. The Northern Giant Mouse Lemurs are small nocturnal...
, Mirza zaza
- Genus Allocebus
The Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur is a nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar. It is the only member of the genus Allocebus. This species is critically endangered and the population is estimated at 100-1000 individuals. They all live a single location in the northeastern part of the country.-References:...
- Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur
The Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur is a nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar. It is the only member of the genus Allocebus. This species is critically endangered and the population is estimated at 100-1000 individuals. They all live a single location in the northeastern part of the country.-References:...
, Allocebus trichotis
- Genus Phaner: fork-crowned lemurs
- Masoala Fork-crowned Lemur
The Masoala Fork-crowned Lemur , also known as the Eastern Fork-marked Lemur, is found in the coastal forests of northern and western Madagascar....
, Phaner furcifer
- Pale Fork-crowned Lemur
The Pale Fork-crowned Lemur is known from western Madagascar; south of the Fiherenana River to the region of Soalala.-References:...
, Phaner pallescens
- Pariente's Fork-crowned Lemur
The Pariente's Fork-crowned Lemur is a species of lemur endemic to the Sambirano region of north-western Madagascar. This lemur has light brown to gray upperparts, a prominent facial fork and dorsal stripe that runs from the tail's tip to the point where it splits on the lemur's head to rejoin at...
, Phaner parienti
- Mt. d’Ambre Fork-crowned Lemur, Phaner electromontis
Footnotes
In 2008, 7 new species of
Microcebus were formally recognized, but
Microcebus lokobensis (
Lokobe Mouse LemurThe Lokobe Mouse Lemur is a species of mouse lemur endemic to Madagascar. It is only known from humid forest on the island of Nosy Be and on the mainland near the village of Manehoka, including Lokobe Reserve. The type locality is the Lokobe Reserve, with the same type location as Claire's Mouse...
) was not among the additions. Therefore its status as a species is still questionable.