True lemurs, also known as brown 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 ''Eulemur''. They are 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 that 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 ...
.
The fur of the true lemurs is long and usually reddish brown. Often,
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
in coloration (sexual dichromatism) is seen, such as in the
black lemur
The black lemur (''Eulemur macaco'') 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 flavi ...
. True lemurs are from in length, with a tail that is as long or significantly longer than the body. They weigh from .
True lemurs are predominantly
diurnal forest inhabitants, with some species preferring rain forests, while others live in dry forests. They are skillful climbers and can cross large distances in trees by jumping, using their non
prehensile
Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different origin ...
tails to aid in balancing. When on the ground, they move almost exclusively on all four legs. True lemurs are social animals and live together in groups of two to 15 members.
The diet of the true lemurs is almost exclusively
herbivorous
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...
– flowers, fruits and leaves. In captivity, they have been shown to also eat insects.
Gestation is 125 days. During the summer or early fall (shortly before the beginning of the rainy season), the females birth their young, usually two offspring. The young clasp firmly to the fur of their mother, then ride on her back when they are older. After about five months, they are weaned, and they are fully mature around 18 months of age. The life expectancy of the true lemurs can be up to 18 years, but this can be longer in captivity.
Classification
* Genus ''Eulemur''
**
Common brown lemur
The common brown lemur (''Eulemur fulvus'') is a species of lemur in the family Lemuridae. It is found in Madagascar and has been introduced to Mayotte.
Taxonomy
Five additional currently recognized species of lemur were until 2001 considered s ...
, ''E. fulvus''
**
Sanford's brown lemur
Sanford's brown lemur (''Eulemur sanfordi''), or Sanford's lemur, is a species of strepsirrhine primate in the family Lemuridae. Sanford's brown lemur was previously considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur (''Eulemur fulvus'') but was ...
, ''E. sanfordi''
**
White-headed lemur
The white-headed lemur (''Eulemur albifrons''), also known as the white-headed brown lemur, white-fronted brown lemur, or white-fronted lemur, is a species of primate in the family Lemuridae. It is only found in north-eastern Madagascar. It is a ...
, ''E. albifrons''
**
Red lemur
The red lemur (''Eulemur rufus''), also known as the rufous brown lemur or northern red-fronted lemur, is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, the species ''E. rufus'' was considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur, ''E. fulvus ...
, ''E. rufus''
**
Red-fronted lemur
The red-fronted lemur (''Eulemur rufifrons''), also known as the red-fronted brown lemur or southern red-fronted brown lemur, is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, it was considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur, ''E. fulvu ...
, ''E. rufifrons''
**
Collared brown lemur
The collared brown lemur (''Eulemur collaris''), also known as the red-collared brown lemur or red-collared lemur, is a medium-sized strepsirrhine primate and one of twelve species of brown lemur in the family Lemuridae. It is only found in sou ...
, ''E. collaris''
**
Gray-headed lemur
The gray-headed lemur (''Eulemur cinereiceps''), or gray-headed brown lemur, is a medium-sized primate, a cathemeral species of lemur in the family Lemuridae. Until a taxonomic revision in 2008, it was known as the white-collared brown lemur or ...
, ''E. cinereiceps''
**
Black lemur
The black lemur (''Eulemur macaco'') 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 flavi ...
, ''E. macaco''
**
Blue-eyed black lemur
The blue-eyed black lemur (''Eulemur flavifrons''), also known as the Sclater's lemur, is a species of true lemur. It can attain a body length of , a tail length of , a total length of , and a weight of . Being a primate, it has strong hands wit ...
, ''E. flavifrons''
**
Crowned lemur
The crowned lemur (''Eulemur coronatus'') is a lemur that is long and weighs . Its tail is about long.
Description
The crowned lemur is endemic to the dry deciduous forests of the northern tip of Madagascar. It eats a diet of mostly flowers, f ...
, ''E. coronatus''
**
Red-bellied lemur
The red-bellied lemur (''Eulemur rubriventer'') is a medium-sized strepsirrhine primate with a luxuriant chestnut brown coat. This lemur is endemic to eastern Madagascan rainforests and is distinguished by patches of white skin below the e ...
, ''E. rubriventer''
**
Mongoose lemur
The mongoose lemur (''Eulemur mongoz'') is a small primate in the family Lemuridae, native to Madagascar and introduced to the Comoros, Comoros Islands. These arboreal animals have pointed faces, long, bushy tails, dark-brown upper parts, pale be ...
, ''E. mongoz''
Survival
Brown lemurs are able to survive degraded forest that would cut off their food supply through expanding their range throughout the terrain.
References
External links
*ARKive
images and movies of the collared brown lemur ''(Eulemur collaris)''Primate Info Net ''Eulemur'' Factsheets
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:True Lemur