The crowned lemur (''Eulemur coronatus'') is a
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, ...
that is long and weighs . Its tail is about long.
Description
The crowned lemur is endemic to the dry deciduous
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
s of the northern tip of
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 ...
.
It eats a diet of mostly flowers, fruits, and leaves. The population is estimated to 1000–10,000 individuals as of 2004, most of which live within the
Ankarana Special Reserve, although there is also a population in the
Montagne d'Ambre national park and also in the forest of Andrafiamena. This species has a distinctive brown-orange crown on the top of the head. Females have a gray body with an orange crown, and males are a darker reddish brown, crowned with black and orange.
Crowned lemurs have a life span of approximately 20 years and reach sexual maturity after 20 months. They give birth usually in late September or early October, after a gestation period of 125 days.
The crowned lemur is in the order of Primates as it possesses characteristics such as pseudo-opposable thumbs, binocular vision and is highly intelligent. ''E. coronatus'' shares with others of the family
Lemuridae long and slender limbs, a slightly longer nose, a smaller brain and a 'grooming comb' formed by the incisors and canine teeth.
The crowned lemur possesses a long non-
prehensile tail used for balance when jumping from branch to branch and for
communication
Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...
within the closely knit, female-led social group.
This member of the genus ''Eulemur'' is primarily
diurnal but has periods of feeding activity at night too.
Geographic range
''Eulemur coronatus'' is thought to live exclusively in the northern region of Madagascar, ranging from the northernmost tip of the island, on the Cap d'Ambre Peninsula, extending south to the east bank of the
Mahavavy River. Its range extends east, to the north of Sambava along the banks of the Manambato River.
Habitat
''E. coronatus'' can be found anywhere in the tropical dry forests of the
Ankarana Reserve to the mid-altitude rainforests of Montagne d'Ambre. They can be found at altitudes between sea level and . Crowned lemurs live in sympatry with the ''
Eulemur sanfordi'' (Sanford's brown lemur), sharing the same habitat. Sanford's brown lemurs are distinguishable by color as they are more gray and brown with no v-shaped crown on their forehead. The male Sanford lemur also have characteristic white ruffs around their ears and cheeks that are absent from the crowned lemurs.
The crowned lemurs of Ankarana Reserve are the only lemurs in this region known to traverse the razor-sharp ''tsingy'' (the eroded limestone rock that is characteristic of this national park) as they head into the forest early in the morning and as they leave the forest just before sunset to settle in the safer canyon forest in the center of these rock fields for the night.
References
External links
*ARKive –
images and movies of the crowned lemur ''(Eulemur coronatus)''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q151910
True lemurs
Mammals described in 1842
Taxa named by John Edward Gray