The red lemur (''Eulemur rufus''), also known as the rufous brown lemur or northern red-fronted lemur, is a species of

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, ...

from

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 ...

. Until 2001, the species ''E. rufus'' was considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the

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'', after which it was classified as its own species. In December 2008, the species was split into two separate species, the red lemur, ''E. rufus'', distributed in dry lowland forests in northwestern Madagascar, and the red-fronted lemur, ''E. rufifrons'', distributed in southwest and eastern Madagascar. The species split was based on genetic and morphological evidence.

Mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

analysis indicates that ''E. rufifrons'' may be more closely related to the common brown lemur (''E. fulvus''), white-headed lemur (''E. albifrons'') and

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'') than it is to ''E. rufus''. The red lemur's range covers dry

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...

s in southwestern Madagascar between the

Betsiboka River Betsiboka River is a long river in central-north Madagascar. It flows northwestward and empties to Bombetoka Bay, forming a large delta. It originates to the east of Antananarivo. The river is surrounded in mangroves. The river is distinctive fo ...

to the north and the

Tsiribihina River The Tsiribihina is a river of western Madagascar. The main tributaries are the Mahajilo, Manandaza, Mania, and Sakeny rivers. Its basin has an area of 49,800 km2. 7,025 km2 is in the basin of the Sakeny River, 14,500 km2 in that of the Mahaj ...

to the south. The Tsiribihina River forms the boundary between ''E. rufus'', which lives north of the river, and ''E. rufifrons'', which lives south of the river. It has a head and body length of and with a tail. Its weight ranges between . It has a gray coat and black face, muzzle and forehead, plus a black line from the muzzle to the forehead, with white eyebrow patches. Males have white or cream colored cheeks and beards, while females have rufous or cream cheeks and beards that are less bushy than males. The species is currently listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable. The most important threats to the species are hunting, as well as

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

resulting from

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

agriculture, clearing of land for pasture, fuelwood gathering and logging. The hunting level is viewed as unsustainable.

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Further reading