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Lemur (genus)

Ring-tailed lemur
A cat-sized primate sits on the ground.  It has a long tail with alternating black and white stripes. Its hind limbs are longer than its forelimbs. The color of the chest and throat is white, and the back is gray. The crown is dark gray, while the ears and cheeks are white. The muzzle is dark grayish and the nose is black, and the eyes are encompassed by black lozenge-shaped patches.
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Strepsirrhini
Family: Lemuridae
Genus: Lemur
Linnaeus, 1758
Species: L. catta
Binomial name
Lemur catta
Linnaeus, 1758
Map of Madagascar, off the southeast coast of Africa, with a range covering most of the southwest portion of the island.
Distribution of Lemur catta
Synonyms

Genus:

  • Prosimia Brisson, 1762
  • Procebus Storr, 1780
  • Catta Link, 1806
  • Maki Muirhead, 1819
  • Mococo Trouessart, 1878
  • Odorlemur Bolwig, 1960

Species:

  • Maki mococo Muirhead, 1819

Genus:

Species:

The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of Madagascar. Known locally in Malagasy as maky ([makʲ], spelled maki in French) or hira, it inhabits gallery forests to spiny scrub in the southern regions of the island. It is omnivorous and the most terrestrial of extant lemurs. The animal is diurnal, being active exclusively in daylight hours.

The ring-tailed lemur is highly social, living in groups of up to 30 individuals. It is also female dominant, a trait common among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together. The ring-tailed lemur will also sunbathe, sitting upright facing its underside, with its thinner white fur towards the sun. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on its sense of smell and marks its territory with scent glands. The males perform a unique scent marking behavior called spur marking and will participate in stink fights by impregnating their tail with their scent and wafting it at opponents.

As one of the most vocal primates, the ring-tailed lemur uses numerous vocalizations including group cohesion and alarm calls. Experiments have shown that the ring-tailed lemur, despite the lack of a large brain (relative to simiiform primates), can organize sequences, understand basic arithmetic operations and preferentially select tools based on functional qualities.


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Wikipedia

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