Lemur Photos

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Lemur Photos

Below are selected pictures of lemurs. More photographs of lemurs are available in the Madgascar section found on the left.

Except where noted, all images are the property of Rhett A. Butler, copyright 1994-2004. Contact me with questions regarding use, reproduction, or purchase of any of the pictures.

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Madagascar is world famous for its lemurs -- primates that look something like a cat crossed with a squirrel and a dog. These animals are unique to the island and display a range of interesting behaviors from singing like a whale (the indri) to sashaying across the sand like a ballet dancer (the sifaka). Below you will learn more about these fascinating creatures.

Lemur history
Madagascar lacks the dominant form of primate distributed worldwide, those of the suborder Haplorhini (monkeys, chimps, gorillas, and Homo sapiens). Instead, their niche has been filled by an older groups of primates, the lemurs. Lemurs belong to the sub-order Strepsirhini together with bushbabies, lorises, and pottos which -- like the original lemurs -- are nocturnal, insectivorous primates characterized by a small body, a long nose, and large eyes. Lemurs have an interesting evolutionary history and the only reason they still exist today is because of Madagascar's isolation.

Until around 160 million years ago, Madagascar was attached to the African mainland as part of the super continent Gondwanaland (formed of Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, India, and Madagascar). As Gondwanaland broke apart, Madgascar moved away from Africa. The first lemur-like primates on the fossil record appeared roughly 60 million years ago in mainland Africa and crossed over to Madagascar shortly thereafter.

The island continued to drift eastward and by the time monkeys appeared on the scene 17-23 million years ago, Madagascar was isolated from their arrival. As highly intelligent and adaptive primates, Monkeys quickly drove the lemur lineage elsewhere in the world toward extinction (a few Strepsirhines -- including bushbabies, lorises, and pottos -- managed to hang on by retaining their nocturnal, solitary, and insectivorous traits).

Madagascar's lemurs -- isolated from evolutionary changes of the world -- radiated into the large island's many niches without much competition or predation. Today lemurs are found in virtually all of Madagascar's ecosystems and share some of the social and behavioral characteristics of monkeys (i.e. forming social groups, eating fruit and vegetation, and being active during the day).

Upper primates did not reach Madagascar until about they learned to navigate the high seas and arrived on boats roughly two thousand years ago. Humans quickly went to work on the island's lemurs, reducing the number of species found in Madagascar by at least 15. The largest species suffered the most and today the largest remaining lemur is the Indri which would have been dwarfed by the gorilla-sized species once found on the island. Currently all lemurs are endangered species, due mainly to habitat destruction (deforestation) and hunting.

Lemur species:

Family	Common name	Scientific name	Local name	Active	Pictures

Cheirogaleidae	Mouse and Dwarf lemurs			Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Hairy-eared Dwarf Mouse-lemur	Allocebus trichotis		Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Southern Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur	Cheirogaleus adipicaudatus	Matavirambo	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Furry-eared Dwarf Lemur	Cheirogaleus crossleyi	Matavirambo	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Greater Dwarf Lemur	Cheirogaleus major	Matavirambo	Nocturnal	+
Cheirogaleidae	Western Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur	Cheirogaleus medius	Matavirambo, Kely Be-ohy, Tsidy, Tsidihy	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Lesser Iron Gray Dwarf Lemur	Cheirogaleus minusculus	Matavirambo	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Greater Iron Gray Dwarf Lemur	Cheirogaleus ravus	Matavirambo	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Sibree's Dwarf Lemur	Cheirogaleus sibreei	Matavirambo	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Gray Mouse-lemur	Microcebus murinus	Tsidy, Koitsiky, Titilivaha, Vakiandri, Pondiky	Nocturnal	+
Cheirogaleidae	Pygmy Mouse-lemur	Microcebus myoxinus	Tsidy	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Golden Mouse-lemur	Microcebus ravelobensis	Tsidy	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Red Mouse-lemur	Microcebus rufus	Anakatsidina, Tsidy, Tsitsidy, Tistsihy	Nocturnal	+
Cheirogaleidae	Giant Mouse-lemur or Coquerel's Mouse-lemur	Mirza coquereli	Tsiba, Tilitilivaha, Siba, Setohy, Fitily	Nocturnal	+
Cheirogaleidae	Amber Mountain Fork-crowned Lemur	Phaner electromontis	Tanta, Tantaraolana	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Masoala Fork-crowned Lemur	Phaner furcifer	Tanta, Tantaraolana	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Western Fork-crowned Lemur	Phaner pallescens	Tanta, Tantaraolana, Vakivoho	Nocturnal
Cheirogaleidae	Sambirano Fork-crowned Lemur	Phaner parienti	Tanta, Tantaraolana	Nocturnal

Daubentoniidae	Aye-aye			Nocturnal
Daubentoniidae	Aye-aye	Daubentonia madagascariensis	Aye-aye, Ahay, Itay-hay, Aiay	Nocturnal

Indridae	Woolly lemurs and allies			Diurnal
Indridae	Eastern Avahi	Avahi laniger	Avahina, Avahy, Ampongy, Fotsifaka	Nocturnal	+
Indridae	Western Avahi	Avahi occidentalis	Fotsife, Tsarafangitra	Nocturnal
Indridae	Indri lemur	Indri indri indri	Babakoto, Amboanala	Diurnal	+
Indridae	Indri lemur	Indri indri variegatus	Babakoto, Amboanala	Diurnal	+
Indridae	Coquerel's Sifaka	Propithecus coquereli	Ankomba malandy, Sifaka, Tsibahaka	Diurnal
Indridae	Crowned Sifaka	Propithecus deckenii coronatus	Tsibahaka, Sifaka	Diurnal
Indridae	Decken's Sifaka	Propithecus deckenii dekenii	Tsibahaka, Sifaka	Diurnal	+
Indridae	Silky Sifaka	Propithecus diadema candidus	Simpona, Simpony	Diurnal
Indridae	Diademed Sifaka	Propithecus diadema diadema	Simpona, Simpony	Diurnal	+
Indridae	Milne-Edwards's Sifaka	Propithecus edwardsi	Simpona, Simpony	Diurnal	+
Indridae	Perrier's Sifaka	Propithecus perrieri	Radjako, Ankomba Job	Diurnal
Indridae	Tattersall's Sifaka	Propithecus tattersalli	Ankomba malandy, Simpona	Diurnal
Indridae	Verreaux's Sifaka	Propithecus verreauxi	Sifaka	Diurnal	+

Lemuridae	True lemurs			Diurnal
Lemuridae	White-fronted Lemur	Eulemur albifrons	Varika	Diurnal
Lemuridae	White-collared Lemur	Eulemur albocollaris	Varika	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Red-collared Lemur	Eulemur collaris	Varika	Diurnal	+
Lemuridae	Crowned Lemur	Eulemur coronatus	Varika	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Brown Lemur	Eulemur fulvus	Varikamavo, Komba	Diurnal	+
Lemuridae	Black Lemur	Eulemur macaco	Ankomba, Komba	Diurnal	+
Lemuridae	Blue-eyed Black Lemur	Eulemur macaco flavifrons	Ankomba, Komba	Diurnal	+
Lemuridae	Mongoose Lemur	Eulemur mongoz	Komba	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Red-bellied Lemur	Eulemur rubriventer	Varikamena	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Red-fronted Lemur	Eulemur rufus	Varika, Varikamavo	Diurnal	+
Lemuridae	Sanford's Lemur	Eulemur sanfordi	Ankomba, Beharavoaka	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Alaotran Gentle Lemur	Hapalemur alaotrensis	Bandro	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Golden Gentle Lemur	Hapalemur aureus	Varibolomena, Bokombolomena	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Gray Gentle Lemur	Hapalemur griseus	Varibolomadinika	Diurnal	+
Lemuridae	Sambriano Gentle Lemur	Hapalemur occidentalis	Bekola, Kofi, Ankomba valiha	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Ring-tailed Lemur	Lemur catta	Maki, Hira	Diurnal	+
Lemuridae	Broad-nosed Gentle Lemur	Prolemur simus	Varibolomavo, Vari, Varikandra	Diurnal
Lemuridae	Red Ruffed Lemur	Varecia rubra	Varimena	Diurnal	+
Lemuridae	Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur	Varecia variegata	Varijatsy	Diurnal	+

Megaladapidae	Sportive lemurs			Nocturnal
Megaladapidae	Back-striped Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur dorsalis	Apongy	Nocturnal
Megaladapidae	Milne-Edwards's Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur edwardsi	Boenga, Boengy, Repahaka	Nocturnal	+
Megaladapidae	White-footed Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur leucopus	Songiky	Nocturnal	+
Megaladapidae	Small-toothed Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur microdon	Trangalavaka, Kotrika or Kotreka, Fitiliky, Itataka, Varikosy	Nocturnal
Megaladapidae	Mitsinjo Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur mitsinjonensis	Kotrika, Varikosy	Nocturnal
Megaladapidae	Weasel Lemur	Lepilemur mustelinus	Trangalavaka, Kotrika, Fitiliky, Itataka, Varikosy	Nocturnal
Megaladapidae	Red-tailed Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur ruficaudatus	Boenga, Boengy	Nocturnal
Megaladapidae	Ankarana Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur septentrionalis ankaranensis	Mahiabeala, Songiky	Nocturnal
Megaladapidae	Seal's Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur seali	Songiky	Nocturnal
Megaladapidae	Northern Sportive Lemur	Lepilemur septentrionalis septentrionalis	Mahiabeala, Songiky	Nocturnal

More from Wikipedia.org:

Lemurs are part of a class of primates known as prosimians, and make up the infraorder Lemuriformes. This type of primate was the evolutionary predecessor of monkeys and apes (simians). The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, which means "spirits of the night". This likely refers to many lemurs' nocturnal behavior and their large, reflective eyes. It is generically used for the members of the four lemuriform families, but it is also the genus of one of the lemuriform species. The two flying lemur species are not lemurs, nor are they even primates.

Lemurs are found naturally only on the island of Madagascar, and some smaller surrounding islands, including the Comoros (where it is likely they were introduced by humans). While they were displaced in the rest of the world by monkeys, apes, and other primates, the lemurs were safe from competition on Madagascar and differentiated into a number of species. These range in size from the tiny 30 gram Peters' Mouse Lemur to the 10 kilogram Indri. The larger species have all become extinct since humans settled on Madagascar, and since the early 20th century the largest lemurs reach about 7 kilograms. Typically, the smaller lemurs are active at night (nocturnal), while the larger ones are active during the day (diurnal).

The small cheirogaleoids are generally omnivores, eating a variety of fruits, flowers and leaves (and sometimes nectar) as well as insects, spiders and small vertebrates. The remainder of the lemurs, the lemuroids are primarily herbivores, although some species supplement their diet with insects.

All lemurs are endangered species, due mainly to habitat destruction (deforestation) and hunting. Although conservation efforts are under way, options are limited because of the lemurs' limited range and because Madagascar is desperately poor. Currently, there are approximately 52 living lemur species.

One of the foremost lemur research facilities is the Duke University Primate Center.

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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2012

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