Hapalemur Simus
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The bamboo lemurs or gentle lemurs are the
lemur Lemurs ( ; from Latin ) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea ( ), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are Endemism, ...
s in genus ''Hapalemur''. These medium-sized
primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
s live exclusively on
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
.


Etymology

Bamboo lemurs were first described by French zoologist
Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (; 16 December 1805 – 10 November 1861) was a French zoologist and an authority on deviation from normal structure. In 1854 he coined the term ''éthologie'' (ethology). Biography He was born in Paris, the ...
in 1851. Comparing their small size, proportions, speckled fur, and other traits to those of
marmoset The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are twenty-two New World monkey species of the genera '' Callithrix'', '' Cebuella'', '' Callibella'', and ''Mico''. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term ...
s—then classified in the genus ''Hapale''—he named the genus ''Hapalemur''. ''Hapale'' derives from the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
word ἁπαλός (''hapalos''), meaning "gentle". In their discussion of lemur name etymologies, Dunkel ''et al.'' speculated that the once popular
vernacular name Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken form of language, particularly when perceived as having lower social status or less prestige than standard language, which is more codified, institutionally promoted, literary, or formal. More n ...
for the genus, "gentle lemur", derived from the translation of ''Hapalemur'', despite their notoriety for being one of the most aggressive lemurs in captivity—an observation first noted in a letter by Dutch naturalist
François Pollen François Paul Louis Pollen (1842–1886) was a Dutch naturalist and merchant. He made major contributions to the study of the Malagasy fauna. Biography Pollen was born on 8 January 1842 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He had four siblings. His father ...
published in 1895. More recently, the common name "bamboo lemur" first appeared in the mid- to late-1980s following the rediscovery of the greater bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur simus''). However, the name became more generally used a year or two later following the discovery of the
golden bamboo lemur The golden bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur aureus''), or in Malagasy, is a medium-sized bamboo lemur endemic to south-eastern Madagascar. It is able to ingest twelve times as much cyanide as would be considered lethal for other species of its size. ...
(''Hapalemur aureus'') in 1987. For a few years, both names or combinations of both were widely used, but "bamboo lemur" became the preferred name in 1994 with the publication of the first edition of ''
Lemurs of Madagascar Lemuroidea is a family (biology), superfamily of primates. Members of this superfamily are called lemuroids, or lemurs. Lemuroidea is one of two superfamilies that form the suborder Strepsirrhini, itself one of two suborders in the order Prima ...
''. The term "gentle lemur" has seen little use in both popular and academic literature since the early 2000s.


Description

The bamboo lemurs are characterized by a grey-brown fur, which varies by species. Their muzzles are short and their ears are round and hairy. Lengths vary from , with tails just as long or longer, and they
weigh In science and engineering, the weight of an object is a quantity associated with the gravitational force exerted on the object by other objects in its environment, although there is some variation and debate as to the exact definition. Some sta ...
up to . Bamboo lemurs prefer damp forests where
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
grows. Although they can be active any time of the day, they are often active just after dawn. Though primarily arboreal, they sometimes come down to the ground. The
Lac Alaotra gentle lemur The Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur alaotrensis''), also known as the Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, Alaotran bamboo lemur, Alaotran gentle lemur, Alaotra reed lemur, or locally as the ', is a bamboo lemur. It is endemic to the reed beds in and ...
or "bandro" (''Hapalemur alaotrensis''), which lives in the reed beds of Lac Alaotra, spends much of its time in water and can swim well, unlike other lemur species, which only venture to water to drink. The lesser gentle lemurs live together in groups of three to five animals, which probably represent families composed of a male, one or two females, and their offspring. They communicate with a variety of sounds. Gestation lasts 135 to 150 days and ends between September and January, when the female bears one to two young. These are weaned after about four months (if the food supply is ample) and are fully mature at two years of age. Their life expectancy is up to 12 years.


Cyanide consumption

Not all bamboo contain
cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
, but ''H. aureus'' selects the growing tips of ''
Cephalostachyum viguieri ''Cephalostachyum viguieri'' is a plant in the grass family in the subfamily Bambusoideae (bamboo). It is native to Madagascar, where it was collected by René Viguier René Viguier (19 May 1880, in Paris – 17 January 1931, in Caen) was a Fren ...
'', which contain 15 mg of cyanide per . Other bamboo lemurs have been found to consume less cyanogenetic forms of bamboo, such as mature shoots of ''C. viguieri'' or the leaves of ''Cephalostachyum perrieri''. How certain bamboo lemurs can detoxify the high amounts of
cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
in their diets is unknown.


Classification

As of 2010, the classification of bamboo lemurs lists five species and three subspecies. The
greater bamboo lemur The greater bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur simus''), also known as the broad-nosed bamboo lemur and the broad-nosed gentle lemur, is a species of lemur endemic to the island of Madagascar. Taxonomy Originally described as ''Hapalemur (Prolemur) si ...
was removed from this genus in 2001 to ''Prolemur'' but was restored in 2016. * Genus ''Hapalemur'' **
Eastern lesser bamboo lemur The eastern lesser bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur griseus''), also known as the gray bamboo lemur, the gray gentle lemur, and the Mahajanga lemur is a small lemur endemic to Madagascar, with three known subspecies. As its name suggests, the eastern le ...
, ''H. griseus'' *** Eastern lesser bamboo lemur, ''H. g. griseus'' *** Gilbert's bamboo lemur, ''H. g. gilberti'' *** Ranomafana bamboo lemur, ''H. g. ranomafanensis'' **
Southern lesser bamboo lemur The southern lesser bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur meridionalis''), also known as the southern bamboo lemur, rusty-gray lesser bamboo lemur, and southern gentle lemur, is a species of bamboo lemur endemic to southern Madagascar. Taxonomy It was origi ...
, ''H. meridionalis'' **
Western lesser bamboo lemur The western lesser bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur occidentalis''), also known as the northern bamboo lemur, western gentle lemur, or Sambirano lesser bamboo lemur, is a species of bamboo lemur endemic to Madagascar. Description The total length of th ...
, ''H. occidentalis'' **
Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur The Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur alaotrensis''), also known as the Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, Alaotran bamboo lemur, Alaotran gentle lemur, Alaotra reed lemur, or locally as the ', is a bamboo lemur. It is endemic to the reed beds in and ...
, ''H. alaotrensis'' **
Golden bamboo lemur The golden bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur aureus''), or in Malagasy, is a medium-sized bamboo lemur endemic to south-eastern Madagascar. It is able to ingest twelve times as much cyanide as would be considered lethal for other species of its size. ...
, ''H. aureus'' **
Greater bamboo lemur The greater bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur simus''), also known as the broad-nosed bamboo lemur and the broad-nosed gentle lemur, is a species of lemur endemic to the island of Madagascar. Taxonomy Originally described as ''Hapalemur (Prolemur) si ...
, ''H. simus''


References


External links


Primate Info Net ''Hapalemur'' Factsheets

Conservation of the Alaotra Gentle Lemur - by Madagascar Wildlife Conservation
{{Taxonbar, from=Q544028 Taxa named by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire