There are different types of lemurs in Africa. There are different types of lemurs that are unique, particular, and exclusive from one another. The “true lemurs” (family Lemuridae) embrace 5 genera and about 18 species. The best identified of those is the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), generally seen in zoos.
In this article I am going to talk as many as 12 different types of lemurs you should be interested in.
It’s distinctive both in its habitat (some dry and rocky areas of Madagascar) and for its striped tail (all different lemurs have solid-colored tails).
Troops are made up of a number of males and females, and the females are the dominant sex.
A male marks the troop’s territory by slashing the trunk of a small tree with an attractive spur on his wrist, making an audible click, and leaving a scented scar on the tree.
Members of the related genus Eulemur include the black lemur (E. macaco), through which the male is black and the feminine is reddish-brown.
The rare black-and-white or black-and-red ruffed lemurs (genus Varecia) live in rainforests on the jap aspect of Madagascar.
The mild lemurs, or lesser bamboo lemurs (genus Hapalemur), and the extremely endangered better bamboo lemurs (Prolemur simus) feed on bamboo stems within the eastern and northwestern rainforests of the island.
There are no less than 10 species of sportive lemurs (family Megaladapidae) that dwell all through Madagascar in both rainforests and dry forests.
They’re solitary and nocturnal, feeding on leaves and flowers, that are digested of their huge cecum with the help of bacteria.
Bacterial fermentation allows energy to be extracted from the massive quantity of otherwise indigestible cellulose within the lemur’s diet.
The dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus), together with the mouse (Microcebus), Coquerel’s (Mirza), hairy-eared (Allocebus), and fork-crowned (Phaner) lemurs, make up the family Cheirogaleidae, which in lots of respects are essentially the most primitive living lemurs.
Dwarf lemurs retailer fat of their tails and are dormant (estivate) throughout dry periods; they dwell in monogamous pairs.
Mouse lemurs, which eat bugs and fruit, are the smallest residing primates. Fork-crowned lemurs inhabit the forests alongside Madagascar’s western coast and live on a diet of gum and bugs.
Strepsirrhine primates first emerged within the Early Eocene Epoch (some 50 million years in the past), although their origins could also be traced to the previous Paleocene Epoch.
These Eocene lemuroids have been abundant in North America and Europe, and a few are identified from complete skeletons.
By the shut of the Eocene (approximately 34 million years in the past), strepsirrhines had virtually disappeared from the Northern Hemisphere.
The lemur lineage continued in tropical forests, nonetheless, and so they have been notably profitable in Madagascar, the place they have been comparatively free from competitors with more-advanced primates.
No fossil deposits are identified in Madagascar between the Mesozoic Period (251 million to 65.5 million years ago) and recent times, so the fossil history of the island’s lemurs is unknown.
Different types of lemurs Species
There are many more species of Lemurs than most individuals notice. It’s believed that there are no less than 99 of them that also survive together with subspecies.
There are additionally many which can be believed to already be extinct over millions of years ago. Here is a list of 12 different types of lemurs.
1. Gray Mouse Lemur
Covered in a brownish-gray fur with a look just like a mouse, this type of lemur prefers to live on the western and southern coasts of Madagascar. According to The Primata site, the grey mouse lemur is sexually dimorphic, which means the females are bigger than the males.
On this species, a couple of male handles the reproductive duties with a gaggle of females. Nonetheless, competition nonetheless exists with the two or three top males servicing a lot of the females.
Males sleep solo whereas females sleep collectively in teams of up to 15 individuals in an effort to cut back the death of younger.
2. Golden-Crowned Sifaka
One of many medium-sized primates is the Golden-Crowned Sifaka Lemur. They’re very restricted in number and location.
There isn’t a lot known about them and so they have been solely recognized as a unique species in 1974.
3. Avahi Cleesei Lemur
Initially found in 1990, this relatively new lemur species was not formally named till 2005.
That’s when researchers from the University of Zurich determined to honor the conservation efforts of British comic John Cleese by naming the woolly, 2-pound and leaf-eating creature with a high-pitched whistle after him, in keeping with Wild Madagascar.
In 1998, Cleese co-starred with a number of lemurs within the documentary, “Operation Lemur With John Cleese,” which centered on habitat destruction.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identifies the Avahi cleesei as an endangered species, as of 2008.
4. Ring-Tailed Lemur
Named for the sequence of black and white rings coloring its tail, the ring-tailed lemur lives alongside the forests and rivers of the assorted Madagascar Islands.
They don’t use their lengthy tails to hold from bushes, as is a well-liked false impression concerning the sort of lemur. Reasonably, their tales are used to propel themselves from tree to tree.
One male dominates every family, servicing all of the females in that group.
The website Lemur World reports that he wins this place by producing extra stink from his scent glands than the opposite males. For female ring-tailed lemurs, the smellier, the sexier.
5. Red Ruffed Lemur
The Red Ruffed Lemur is a medium-sized species. They don’t affiliate with any other varieties of Lemurs. They appear to show their noses up at them and won’t even nest or feed in the same areas.
6. Indri Lemur
The Indri Lemur can also be referred to as the Babakoto in lots of regions. This is among the largest Lemurs discovered in the world.
They appear to have many behaviors that can be humanistic. They’ve traits which can be completely different from many different species of Lemurs.
7. Verreaux’s Sifaka
The Verreaux’s Sifaka Lemur is medium in size when in comparison with different species. It’s a primate and looks similar to many small species of monkeys. Because of this it’s usually accurately categorized as a primate.
8. Collared Brown Lemur
The Collared Brown Lemur is a primate that’s medium in size. There are 12 species of Brown Lemurs on the earth. They’re essentially the most well-known of those Brown Lemurs.
9. Black Lemur
The Black Lemur is a sort of primate and there are two subspecies that were identified. They’re the Slader Lemur and the E. Macaco Lemur. In lots of areas, the ranged of them overlap and that has led to combined breeding.
10. Mongoose Lemur
These lemurs live within the dry forests of northwest Madagascar and the Comoro Islands, which are located on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel within the western Indian Ocean. Mongoose lemurs eat any kind of vegetable available.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species listed them as “vulnerable,” a step away from endangered, in 2008. Men and women are roughly identical sizes however differ in color.
Each has a grey base coloration with females that includes white on their sides. Males have red coloring on their sides.
11. Coquerel’s Sifaka
The Coquerel’s Sifaka Lemur is a medium-sized one and it belongs to the primate family. It options some very interesting behaviors in addition to a look that’s different from other Lemurs.
12. Aye-Aye
Making its home in eastern Madagascar, this lemur has distinctive physical traits — large eyes, rat-like teeth, and bat-like ears. It has a long middle finger that it makes use of as a tool to detect bugs.
It taps on bushes with its center finger, disturbing the larvae of bugs and inflicting them to maneuver, making them straightforward for this lemur to detect.
Regardless of its honed insect-looking capabilities, it lives a “close to threatened” life on account of habitat destruction and its standing as a symbol of dangerous luck to the native peoples living in the same space, in keeping with Wild Madagascar.
I hope this article on different types of lemurs was interesting to you.
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