GREEN LEMUR
Lemurs are cool. They are from Madagascar.

Lemurs

Lemurs make up the infraorder Lemuriformes and are members of a group of primates known as strepsirrhines. The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night" or "ghosts". This likely refers to their large, reflective eyes and the wailing cries of some species (the Indri in particular). The term is generically used for the members of the four lemuriform families, but it is also the genus of one of the lemuriform species, the Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta). The two so-called flying lemur species, known formally as colugos, are not lemurs or even primates.

Physical Characteristics

Lemurs are primates endemic to the island of Madagascar and smaller surrounding islands, such as the Comoros, where they were likely introduced by humans. Molecular genetics indicates that they reached Madagascar after it broke away from mainland Africa, possibly by "rafting" across the ocean on large clumps of vegetation.[3] While their ancestors were displaced in the rest of the world by monkeys and apes, the lemurs were safe from competition on Madagascar and differentiated into a number of species. These range in size from the tiny 30 gram (1 oz) Pygmy Mouse Lemur to the 10 kilogram (22 lb) Indri. Larger species, some of which weighed up to 240 kg[4], have all become extinct since humans settled on Madagascar. Typically, the smaller lemurs are nocturnal, while the larger ones are 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.


Except for the Indri, all lemurs have long tails that they use for communication with each other and balance when leaping between trees. They have opposable thumbs and long toes adapted for gripping tree branches. Lemurs have nails rather than claws on all digits except the second toe of each hind foot, which has a toilet-claw for grooming. All lemur species have a tapetum, the reflective layer over the retina that enhances night vision. Lemurs are thought to have limited color vision. Lemurs depend heavily on the sense of smell and have large nasal cavities and moist noses.

Unlike most other primates, lemur species that live in groups have a matriarchal society (i.e., females are dominant over males). Most lemur species are arboreal and traverse the canopy by vertical clinging and leaping or quadrupedalism, with the exception of the Ring-Tailed Lemur, which spend more time on the ground than other species.

Hybrids may occur between different species of lemur. In The variation of animals and plants under domestication Charles Darwin noted: "Several members of the family of Lemurs have produced hybrids in the Zoological Gardens."

Classifications

The 4 families of lemurs are split into two superfamilies, containing 99 species and subspecies. The Cheirogaleidae have a pedal structure similar to the other strepsirrhine families and the haplorrhines, suggesting they split off from the other lemurs first citation needed] As such, the Cheirogaleoidea are a sister clade to the Lemuroidea.

Female Dominance

Many, but not all, lemur species exhibit female dominance, which is a very rare social structure in mammals, and it is only observed consistently in hyenas and lemurs. In species where this occurs, adult males exhibit submissive behavior to adult females in social settings, such as feeding, grooming, and sleeping site priority. Interestingly, most lemurs do not exhibit sexual dimorphism, but it remains unclear what role size and strength play in male deference. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of female dominance, there is still no single hypothesis that can fully explain female social dominance in lemurs at this time and each hypothesis is likely to play a role.

Female social dominance was first observed in the Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta). Since then, many, but not all, species of lemurs have been found to demonstrate female social dominance including the Crowned Lemur (Eulemur coronatus) and the Gray Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus).