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.
Mother lemur catta with baby on chest |
White Ruffed Lemurs |
Brown Lemur, Madagascar |
Female Black Lemur, Madagascar |
Male Black Lemur |
Male Black Lemur |
Greater Bamboo Lemur |
Milne-Edwards Sifaka |
Red ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata rubra) |
White-fronted brown lemur |
Red Ruffed Lemur |
Red Ruffed Lemur |
Brown Lemur, Madagascar |
Indri Lemur, Madagascar
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.
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.
Pictures were taken by Rhett A. Butler, copyright 2008. While these photos are the property of mongabay.com, it may be permissible to use them for non-commercial purposes (like powerpoint presentations and school projects), provided that the images are not altered in any form. Please read this for more details. If you are interested in using an image in a publication please contact me.
