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. 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, ''E. fulvus''
**
Sanford's brown lemur, ''E. sanfordi''
**
White-headed lemur, ''E. albifrons''
**
Red lemur, ''E. rufus''
**
Red-fronted lemur, ''E. rufifrons''
**
Collared brown lemur, ''E. collaris''
**
Gray-headed lemur, ''E. cinereiceps''
**
Black lemur, ''E. macaco''
**
Blue-eyed black lemur, ''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, ''E. rubriventer''
**
Mongoose lemur, ''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
*
*
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