Gentle lemur
| Bamboo lemurs | |
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Golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Strepsirrhini |
| Family: | Lemuridae |
| Genus: |
Hapalemur I. Geoffrey, 1851 |
| Type species | |
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Lemur griseus É. Geoffroy, 1812 ( = Lemur griseus Link, 1795) |
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| Species | |
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Hapalemur griseus |
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| Combined distribution of Hapalemur | |
| Synonyms | |
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Hapalemur griseus
Hapalemur occidentalis
Hapalemur meridionalis
Hapalemur alaotrensis
Hapalemur aureus
The bamboo or gentle lemurs are the lemurs in genus Hapalemur. These medium-sized primates live exclusively on Madagascar. The greater bamboo lemur, formerly known as Hapalemur simus, was considered part of this genus, but is now classified as belonging to the genus Prolemur.
Bamboo lemurs were first described by French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1851. Comparing their small size, proportions, speckled fur, and other traits to those of marmosets—then classified in the genus Hapale—he named the genus Hapalemur. Hapale derives from the Greek word απαλός (hapalos), meaning "gentle".
In their discussion of lemur name etymologies, Dunkel et al. speculated that the once popular vernacular name for the genus, "gentle lemur", derived from the translation of Hapalemur, despite their notoriety for being one of the most aggressive lemurs in captivity—an observation first noted in a letter by Dutch naturalist François Pollen published in 1895. More recently, the common name "bamboo lemur" (often used for both Hapalemur and Prolemur) first appeared in the mid- to late-1980s following the rediscovery of the greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus). However, the name became more generally used a year or two later following the discovery of the golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) in 1987. For a few years, both names or combinations of both were widely used, but "bamboo lemur" became the preferred name in 1994 with the publication of the first edition of Lemurs of Madagascar. The term "gentle lemur" has seen little use in both popular and academic literature since the early 2000s.
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