Lemurs (/ ˈliːmər / (listen) LEE-mər) (from Latin lemures – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed mammals of the superfamily Lemuroidea, divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are native only to the island of Madagascar.
While writing we ran into the question “Do lemurs only live in madagascar?”.
They are native only to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees ( arboreal ), and are active at night ( nocturnal ).
What species of lemurs live in Madagascar?
Habitat and Range: upper rainforest canopies of eastern Madagascar. Diet: fruit, nectar, and pollenActivity Cycle: diurnal. Social Grouping: varies greatly from one pair and their offspring to up to 16 individuals. IUCN Status: Critically Endangered. CITES Status: Appendix IMore items.
You might be thinking “Why are there so many lemur species on Madagascar?”
Eighty-eight species of lemurs exist today, all of which are native to Madagascar [source: Smithsonian National Zoo ]. In fact, the reason lemurs have been able to thrive in Madagascar is because no other primates inhabit the island.
One idea is that the isolation from primates like apes and monkeys, protected the lemurs from their main predators. Nowadays, no other primates are known to inhabit the Red Island other than them. This is one of the cause why lemurs are able to survive in Madagascar. Other than Madagascar, lemurs disappeared from the rest of the world.
Where do most lemurs live in Madagscar?
Their tails can be up to 2 feet long (61 centimeters). Ring-tailed lemurs live in southwestern Madagascar, in arid, open areas and forests in territories that range from 15 to 57 acres (0.06 to 0.2 square kilometers) in size. As with all lemurs, olfactory communication is important for ringtails.