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Lemuridae
 
 
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Lemuridae is a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of prosimian
Prosimian

Prosimians are a group of mammals that includes all primates except monkeys and apes. They include, among others, lemurs, the Aye-aye, bushbaby, and tarsiers....
 primate
Primate

A primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, Lorisidaes, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including humans....
s native to Madagascar
Madagascar

Madagascar, 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 List of islands by area, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are Endemism to Madagascar....
, and one of four families commonly known as lemur
Lemur

Lemurs make up the infraorder Lemuriformes and are members of a group of primates known as prosimians. The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night" or "ghosts"....
s. These animals were thought to be the evolutionary predecessors of monkey
Monkey

A monkey is a nonhuman primate mammal with the exception usually of the lemurs and tarsiers. More specifically, the term monkey refers to a subset of monkeys: any of the smaller longer-tailed catarrhine or platyrrhine primates as contrasted with the apes....
s and ape
Ape

An ape is any member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates. In less scientific language, it has various meanings, although it often excludes humans....
s, but this is no longer considered correct. The family gets its name from the Ancient Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 belief that the animals were ghosts or spirits ('lemure
Larvae

In Roman mythology, the larvae or lemures were the spectres or spirits of the dead; they were the malignant version of the lares. Some Roman writers describe lemures as the common name for all the spirits of the dead, and divide them into two classes: the lares, or the benevolent souls of the family, which haunted and guard...
s'), because many species are nocturnal.

rids are medium-sized arboreal primates, ranging from 32 to 56 cm in length, excluding the tail, and weighing from 0.7 to 5 kg.






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Lemuridae is a family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of prosimian
Prosimian

Prosimians are a group of mammals that includes all primates except monkeys and apes. They include, among others, lemurs, the Aye-aye, bushbaby, and tarsiers....
 primate
Primate

A primate is a member of the biological order Primates , the group that contains lemurs, the Aye-aye, Lorisidaes, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys, and apes, with the last category including humans....
s native to Madagascar
Madagascar

Madagascar, 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 List of islands by area, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are Endemism to Madagascar....
, and one of four families commonly known as lemur
Lemur

Lemurs make up the infraorder Lemuriformes and are members of a group of primates known as prosimians. The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night" or "ghosts"....
s. These animals were thought to be the evolutionary predecessors of monkey
Monkey

A monkey is a nonhuman primate mammal with the exception usually of the lemurs and tarsiers. More specifically, the term monkey refers to a subset of monkeys: any of the smaller longer-tailed catarrhine or platyrrhine primates as contrasted with the apes....
s and ape
Ape

An ape is any member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates. In less scientific language, it has various meanings, although it often excludes humans....
s, but this is no longer considered correct. The family gets its name from the Ancient Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 belief that the animals were ghosts or spirits ('lemure
Larvae

In Roman mythology, the larvae or lemures were the spectres or spirits of the dead; they were the malignant version of the lares. Some Roman writers describe lemures as the common name for all the spirits of the dead, and divide them into two classes: the lares, or the benevolent souls of the family, which haunted and guard...
s'), because many species are nocturnal.

Characteristics

Lemurids are medium-sized arboreal primates, ranging from 32 to 56 cm in length, excluding the tail, and weighing from 0.7 to 5 kg. They have long, bushy tails and soft, woolly fur of varying coloration. The hindlegs are slightly longer than the forelegs, although not enough to hamper fully quadruped
Quadruped

Quadrupedalism is a form of Terrestrial locomotion in animals using four limbs or leg . An animal or machine that usually moves in a quadrupedal manner is known as a quadruped, meaning "four feet" ....
al movement (unlike the sportive lemur
Sportive lemur

The sportive lemurs are the medium sized primates that make up the Lepilemuridae family. The family consists of only one extant genus, Lepilemur, as well as the extinct genus Megaladapis....
s). Most species are highly agile, and regularly leap several metres between trees. They have a good sense of smell
Olfaction

Olfaction refers to the sense of smell. This sense is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertebrates, and, by analogy, sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates....
 and binocular vision
Binocular vision

Binocular vision is Visual perception in which both eyes are used together. The word binocular comes from two Latin roots, bini for double, and oculus for eye....
. Unlike most other lemurs, all but one species of lemurid (the Ring-tailed Lemur
Ring-tailed Lemur

The Ring-tailed Lemur is a large Strepsirrhini primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of four lemur families....
) lack a tapetum lucidum
Tapetum lucidum

The tapetum lucidum is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrate animals, that lies immediately behind or sometimes within the retina. It Reflection visible light back through the retina, increasing the light available to the Photoreceptor cell....
, a reflective layer in the eye that improves night vision.

Lemurids are herbivorous
Herbivore

Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism, known as an herbivore, heterotrophs principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria....
, eating fruit, leaves, and, in some cases, nectar. They have the dental formula
Dentition

Dentition is the tooth 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....
:

With most lemurids, the mother gives birth to one or two young after a gestation
Gestation

Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during mammalian pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
 period of between 120 and 140 days, depending on species. Though the ruffed lemur
Ruffed lemur

The ruffed lemurs of the genus Varecia are Strepsirrhini primates and the largest extant lemurs within the family Lemuridae. Like all lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar....
 species are the only lemurids that have true litters, consisting of anywhere from 2 to 6 offspring. They are generally sociable animals, living in groups of up to thirty individuals in some species. In some cases, such as the Ring-tailed Lemur, the groups are long-lasting, with distinct dominance hierarchies, while in others, such as the Common Brown Lemur
Common Brown Lemur

The Common Brown Lemur is a species of lemur in the Lemuridae family. It is found in Madagascar and Mayotte....
, the membership of the groups varies from day to day, and seems to have no clear social structure.

Classification

The family Lemuridae contains 5 genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, and 22 species.
  • ORDER PRIMATES
    • Suborder Strepsirrhini
      Strepsirrhini

      The clade Strepsirrhini is one of the two suborders of primates. One of the most distinguishing characteristic of these 118 species is their wet noses, and it is this feature for which the grouping is named....
      : non-tarsier prosimians
      • Family Cheirogaleidae
        Cheirogaleidae

        Cheirogaleidae is the family of strepsirrhine primates that contains the various dwarf and mouse lemurs. Like all other lemurs, cheirogaleids live exclusively on the island of Madagascar....
        : dwarf and mouse lemurs
      • Family Lemuridae
        • Subfamily Lemurinae
          Lemurinae

          Lemurinae is a family of Lemurs that include the lemurs which are most known to non-zoologists. The family includes the ruffed lemurs, the Ring tailed lemur, and the Brown Lemur....
          • Genus Lemur
            Ring-tailed Lemur

            The Ring-tailed Lemur is a large Strepsirrhini primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of four lemur families....
            • Ring-tailed Lemur
              Ring-tailed Lemur

              The Ring-tailed Lemur is a large Strepsirrhini primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of four lemur families....
              , Lemur catta
          • Genus Eulemur : brown lemurs
            • Common Brown Lemur
              Common Brown Lemur

              The Common Brown Lemur is a species of lemur in the Lemuridae family. It is found in Madagascar and Mayotte....
              , Eulemur fulvus
            • Sanford's Brown Lemur
              Sanford's Brown Lemur

              Sanford's Brown Lemur is a species of prosimian primate in the Lemuridae family. The Sanford's Brown Lemur was previously considered a subspecies of the Common Brown Lemur but as of 2005 many of the brown lemurs have been elevated to a full species status....
              , Eulemur sanfordi
            • White-headed Lemur
              White-headed Lemur

              The White-headed Lemur , also known as the White-fronted Brown Lemur, is a species of primate in the Lemuridae family. It is only found in north-eastern Madagascar....
              , Eulemur albifrons
            • Red Lemur
              Red Lemur

              The 'Red Lemur' is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, the species E. rufus was considered a subspecies of the Common Brown Lemur, E....
              , Eulemur rufus
            • Red-fronted Lemur
              Red-fronted Lemur

              The 'Red-fronted Lemur' or 'Red-fronted Brown Lemur' is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, it was considered a subspecies of the Common Brown Lemur, E....
              , Eulemur rufifrons
            • Collared Brown Lemur
              Collared Brown Lemur

              The Collared Brown Lemur is a medium-sized Strepsirrhini primate and one of ten species of True lemur in the Lemuridae family. It is only found in south-eastern Madagascar....
              , Eulemur collaris
            • Gray-headed Lemur
              Gray-headed Lemur

              The Gray-headed Lemur is a medium-sized primate, a cathemeral species of lemur in the Lemuridae family. It lives in south-eastern Madagascar. It is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to a highly restricted range....
              , Eulemur cinereiceps
            • Black Lemur
              Black Lemur

              The 'Black Lemur' is a species of lemur from the family Lemuridae. Like all lemurs, it is endemic to Madagascar. Originally, the species was thought to have two subspecies, Eulemur macaco macaco and Eulemur macaco flavifrons, both of which were elevated to species status by Mittermeier et al. in 2008 to Eulemur macaco and Eu...
              , Eulemur macaco
            • Sclater's Lemur, Eulemur flavifrons
            • Crowned Lemur
              Crowned Lemur

              The Crowned Lemur is a lemur that is 31-36 cm long and weighs 2 kg. Its tail is about 42-51 cm long. The Crowned Lemur is endemic to the dry deciduous forests of the northern tip of Madagascar....
              , Eulemur coronatus
            • Red-bellied Lemur
              Red-bellied Lemur

              The Red-bellied Lemur is a medium sized prosimian with a luxuriant chestnut brown coat. This lemur is Endemic to eastern Madagascar rainforests and is distinguished by patches of white skin below the eyes, giving rise to a "teardrop" effect, particularly conspicuous in the male....
              , Eulemur rubriventer
            • Mongoose Lemur
              Mongoose Lemur

              The Mongoose Lemur is a lemur ranging from 12 to 18 inches long plus a tail of 16 to 25 inches. The Mongoose Lemur lives in Madagascar dry deciduous forests within Madagascar as well as in Comoros forests on the islands of Comoros....
              , Eulemur mongoz
          • Genus Varecia : ruffed lemurs
            • Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
              Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur

              The Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur is the more endangered of the two species of ruffed lemurs, both of which are endemic to the island of Madagascar....
              , Varecia variegata
            • Red Ruffed Lemur
              Red Ruffed Lemur

              The Red Ruffed Lemur is one of two species in the genus Varecia, the ruffed lemurs; the other is the Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur . Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar and occurs only in the rainforests of Masoala National Park, in the northeast of the island....
              , Varecia rubra
        • Subfamily Hapalemurinae
          Hapalemurinae

          Hapalemurinae is a subfamily of lemurs in the Cheirogaleidae family. It contains the Bamboo lemurs and the Greater Bamboo Lemur....
          • Genus Hapalemur : lesser gentle or bamboo lemurs
            • Eastern Lesser Bamboo Lemur, Hapalemur griseus
            • Southern Lesser Bamboo Lemur
              Southern Lesser Bamboo Lemur

              The Southern Lesser Bamboo Lemur is species of bamboo lemur endemic to southern Madagascar near T?lanaro. It was originally proposed as a subspecies of the Eastern Lesser Bamboo Lemur and is of similar size....
              , Hapalemur meridionalis
            • Gilbert's Bamboo Lemur, Hapalemur gilberti
            • Lac Alaotra Gentle Lemur
              Lac Alaotra Gentle Lemur

              The Lac Alaotra Gentle Lemur , also known as the Alaotran Gentle Lemur or locally as the Bandro, is a bamboo lemur. It is endemic to the reed beds in and around Lac Alaotra, in northeast Madagascar....
              , Hapalemur alaotrensis
            • Golden Bamboo Lemur
              Golden Bamboo Lemur

              The Golden Bamboo Lemur or Golden Lemur is a medium sized bamboo lemur endemic to southeastern Madagascar. It is listed as a endangered species due to habitat loss....
              , Hapalemur aureus
            • Western Lesser Bamboo Lemur
              Western Lesser Bamboo Lemur

              The Western Lesser Bamboo Lemur is species of bamboo lemur endemic to Madagascar. The total length of this primate is 55?67 centimeters, more than half of which is tail, and average weight is just under 1 kilogram....
              , Hapalemur occidentalis
          • Genus Prolemur
            Greater Bamboo Lemur

            The Greater Bamboo Lemur is a large, greyish brown lemur with white ear tufts. It feeds almost exclusively on Giant Bamboo, preferring the shoots but also eating the pith and leaves....
            • Greater Bamboo Lemur
              Greater Bamboo Lemur

              The Greater Bamboo Lemur is a large, greyish brown lemur with white ear tufts. It feeds almost exclusively on Giant Bamboo, preferring the shoots but also eating the pith and leaves....
              , Prolemur simus
      • Family Lepilemuridae: sportive lemurs
      • Family Indriidae
        Indriidae

        The Indridae are a family of strepsirrhine primates. They are medium to large sized lemurs with only four teeth in the toothcomb instead of the usual six....
        : woolly lemurs, sifakas, and allies
      • Family Daubentoniidae: Aye-aye
      • Family Lorisidae
        Lorisidae

        Lorisidae is a family of strepsirrhine primates. The lorids are all slim arboreal animals and include the lorises, pottos and angwantibos....
        : lorises, pottos and allies
      • Family Galagidae: galagos
    • Suborder Haplorrhini
      Haplorrhini

      The haplorrhines, the "dry-nosed" primates , are members of the Haplorrhini Cladistics: the prosimian tarsiers and all of the true simians ....
      : tarsiers, monkeys and apes


Lemur species in the Eulemur are known to interbreed, despite having dramatically different chromosome
Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein that is found in Cell . A chromosome is a single piece of DNA that contains many genes, regulatory sequence and other genetic sequence....
 numbers. Red-fronted (2N=60) and Collared
Collared Brown Lemur

The Collared Brown Lemur is a medium-sized Strepsirrhini primate and one of ten species of True lemur in the Lemuridae family. It is only found in south-eastern Madagascar....
 (2N=50-52) Brown Lemurs were found to hybridize at Berenty Reserve
Berenty Reserve

Berenty Reserve is a small private reserve of gallery forest along the Mandrake river, set in the semi-arid Madagascar spiny thickets ecoregion of the far south of Madagascar....
, Madagascar
Madagascar

Madagascar, 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 List of islands by area, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are Endemism to Madagascar....
.