Editing Lemuridae

{{Short description|Family of lemurs}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| taxon = Lemuridae
| authority = [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1821<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Groves|pages=114–117|id=12100033}}</ref>
| image = Common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus) female with juvenile.jpg
| image_caption = Common brown lemur (''E. fulvus''), female with juvenile
| status = CITES_A1
| status_system = CITES
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite web | url = http://checklist.cites.org/#/en/search/scientific_name=Lemuridae | title = Checklist of CITES Species | website = CITES | publisher = UNEP-WCMC | access-date = 18 March 2015}}</ref>
| type_genus = ''[[Ring-tailed lemur|Lemur]]''
| type_genus_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genus|Genera]]
| subdivision = 
''[[Ring-tailed lemur|Lemur]]''<br/>
''[[True lemur|Eulemur]]''<br/>
''[[Bamboo lemur|Hapalemur]]''<br/>
''[[Ruffed lemur|Varecia]]''
}}

'''Lemuridae''' is a [[family (biology)|family]] of [[Strepsirrhini|strepsirrhine]] [[primate]]s native to [[Madagascar]] and the [[Comoro Islands|Comoros]]. They are represented by the Lemuriformes in Madagascar with one of the highest concentration of the lemurs. One of five families commonly known as [[lemur]]s, these animals were once thought to be the evolutionary predecessors of [[monkey]]s and [[ape]]s, but this is no longer considered correct.<ref>{{cite book | author1 = Shumaker, Robert W. | author2 = Beck, Benjamin B. | title = Primates in Question | publisher = Smithsonian Institution | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-1-58834-176-1 | url = https://archive.org/details/primatesinquesti00shum }}</ref> They are formally referred to as '''lemurids'''.

==Classification==
{{Main|List of lemuroids}}
The family Lemuridae contains 21<!--As per species list below. If you know of a 22nd species, add it to the list--> extant species in five [[genus|genera]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Mittermeier, R. A.|year=2008|title=Lemur Diversity in Madagascar|journal=International Journal of Primatology|volume=29|issue=6|pages=1607–1656|doi=10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y|display-authors=etal|hdl=10161/6237|s2cid=17614597|url=https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/10161/6237/1/08%20lemur%20diversity.pdf}}</ref>

'''Family Lemuridae'''
*Genus ''[[Lemur (genus)|Lemur]]''
**[[Ring-tailed lemur]], ''Lemur catta''
*Genus ''[[Eulemur]]'', true lemurs''
**[[Common brown lemur]], ''Eulemur fulvus''
**[[Sanford's brown lemur]], ''Eulemur sanfordi''
**[[White-headed lemur]], ''Eulemur albifrons''
**[[Red lemur]], ''Eulemur rufus''
**[[Red-fronted lemur]], ''Eulemur rufifrons''
**[[Collared brown lemur]], ''Eulemur collaris''
**[[Gray-headed lemur]], ''Eulemur cinereiceps''
**[[Black lemur]], ''Eulemur macaco''
**[[Blue-eyed black lemur]], ''Eulemur flavifrons''
**[[Crowned lemur]], ''Eulemur coronatus''
**[[Red-bellied lemur]], ''Eulemur rubriventer''
**[[Mongoose lemur]], ''Eulemur mongoz''
*Genus ''[[Varecia]]'', ruffed lemurs
**[[Black-and-white ruffed lemur]], ''Varecia variegata''
**[[Red ruffed lemur]], ''Varecia rubra''
*Genus ''[[Hapalemur]]'', bamboo lemurs
**[[Eastern lesser bamboo lemur]] (a.k.a. gray gentle bamboo lemur), ''Hapalemur griseus''
**[[Southern lesser bamboo lemur]], ''Hapalemur meridionalis''
**[[Western lesser bamboo lemur]], ''Hapalemur occidentalis''
**[[Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur|Lac Alaotra gentle lemur]] (a.k.a. ''bandro''), ''Hapalemur alaotrensis''
**[[Golden bamboo lemur]], ''Hapalemur aureus''
**[[Greater bamboo lemur]], ''Hapalemur simus''
*Genus †''[[Pachylemur]]''
**†''[[Pachylemur insignis]]''
**†''[[Pachylemur jullyi]]''

This family was once broken into two subfamilies, '''Hapalemurinae''' ([[bamboo lemur]]s and the [[greater bamboo lemur]]) and '''Lemurinae''' (the rest of the family), but molecular evidence and the similarity of the scent glands have since placed the [[ring-tailed lemur]] with the bamboo lemurs and the greater bamboo lemur.<ref name="Mittermeier5c">{{LoM2 | pages = 209–323}}</ref>

Lemur species in the genus ''[[Eulemur]]'' are known to interbreed, despite having dramatically different [[chromosome]] numbers. [[red-fronted brown lemur|Red-fronted]] ([[Diploid|2N]]=60) and [[collared brown lemur|collared]] ([[Diploid|2N]]=50–52) brown lemurs were found to [[Hybrid (biology)#Interspecific hybrids|hybridize]] at [[Berenty Reserve]], [[Madagascar]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Jekielek |first1=J. |year=2002 |url=https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item?id=MQ82293&op=pdf&app=Library&is_thesis=1&oclc_number=56806085 |title=Hybridization of brown Lemurs at Berenty Reserve, Madagascar |type=MSc. |publisher=Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta}}</ref>

== Characteristics ==

Lemurids are medium-sized arboreal primates, ranging from 32 to 56&nbsp;cm in length, excluding the tail, and weighing from 0.7 to 5&nbsp;kg. They have long, bushy tails and soft, woolly fur of varying coloration. The hindlegs are slightly longer than the forelegs, although not enough to hamper fully [[quadruped]]al movement (unlike the [[sportive lemur]]s). Most species are highly agile, and regularly leap several metres between trees. They have a good [[olfaction|sense of smell]] and [[binocular vision]]. Unlike most other lemurs, all but one species of lemurid (the [[ring-tailed lemur]]) lack a [[tapetum lucidum]],<ref name=EoM>{{cite book|editor= Macdonald, D.|author= Richard, Alison F.|year= 1984|title= The Encyclopedia of Mammals|publisher= Facts on File|location= New York|pages= [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/320 320–325]|isbn= 978-0-87196-871-5|url= https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/320}}</ref> a reflective layer in the eye that improves night vision. Historically among mammals, activity cycles are either strictly diurnal or nocturnal, however, these can widely vary across species. Lemur activity has in general evolved from nocturnal to diurnal. Some lemurs are also cathemeral, an activity pattern where an animal is neither strictly diurnal nor nocturnal.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|title = Cathemerality in a small, folivorous primate: proximate control of diel activity in ''Hapalemur meridionalis''|journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology|date = 2015-04-07|issn = 0340-5443|pages = 991–1002|volume = 69|issue = 6|doi = 10.1007/s00265-015-1911-3|first1 = Timothy M.|last1 = Eppley|first2 = Jörg U.|last2 = Ganzhorn|first3 = Giuseppe|last3 = Donati| bibcode=2015BEcoS..69..991E |s2cid = 1484275}}</ref>

Lemurids are [[herbivore|herbivorous]], eating fruit, leaves, and, in some cases, [[nectar]]. For the most part, they have the [[dentition|dental formula]]: {{DentalFormula|upper=2.1.3.3|lower=2.1.3.3}}. A lemur's diet is one that is not restricted since their diet consists of frugivory, granivory, folivory, insectivory, omnivory, and gumnivory foods. Some [[Subfossil]] records have contributed to the knowledge of the currently extant lemurs from the [[Holocene]] by showing the changes in their dental records in habitats near human activity. This demonstrates that lemur species such as the lemur [[ring-tailed lemur|''catta'']] and the common brown lemur were forced to switch their primary diet to a group of secondary food sources.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Cuozzo|first1=Frank P.|last2=Sauther|first2=Michelle L.|date=2015-05-19|title=Patterns of Dental Macrowear in Subfossil Lemur catta from Ankilitelo Cave, Madagascar: Indications of Ecology and Habitat Use over Time|journal=Folia Primatologica|language=en|volume=86|issue=1–2|pages=140–149|doi=10.1159/000369900|pmid=26022310|s2cid=3461550|issn=0015-5713}}</ref>

With most lemurids, the mother gives birth to one or two young after a [[gestation]] period of between 120 and 140 days, depending on species. The [[ruffed lemur]] species are the only lemurids that have true litters, consisting of anywhere from two to six offspring. They are generally sociable animals, living in groups of up to thirty individuals in some species.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|title = Ecological and Behavioral Studies of Madagascar Lemurs in the Field|journal = Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences|date = 1962-12-01|issn = 1749-6632|pages = 267–281|volume = 102|issue = 2|doi = 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1962.tb13645.x|first = J. J.|last = Petter|pmid = 13942970| bibcode=1962NYASA.102..267P |s2cid = 45299216}}</ref> In some cases, such as the ring-tailed lemur, the groups are long-lasting, with distinct dominance hierarchies, while in others, such as the [[common brown lemur]], the membership of the groups varies from day to day, and seems to have no clear social structure.<ref name=EoM/>

Some of the lemur traits include low basal metabolic rate, highly seasonal breeders, adaptations to unpredictable climate and female dominance. Female dominance amongst lemurs is when the females are sexually monomorphic and have priority access to food. Lemurs live in groups of 11 to 17 animals, where females tend to stay within their natal groups and the males migrate. Male lemurs are competitive to win their mates which causes instability among the other organisms. Lemurs are able to mark their territory by using scents from local areas.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|title = Seasonality, sociality, and reproduction: Long-term stressors of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)|journal = Hormones and Behavior|date = 2010-01-01|pages = 76–85|volume = 57|series = Sex-specific Therapeutic Strategies based on Neuroactivie Steroids: In Search of Innovative tools for NeuroprotectionSex-specific Therapeutic Strategies based on Neuroactivie Steroids|issue = 1|doi = 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.09.016|first1 = Anne P.|last1 = Starling|first2 = Marie J. E.|last2 = Charpentier|first3 = Courtney|last3 = Fitzpatrick|first4 = Elizabeth S.|last4 = Scordato|first5 = Christine M.|last5 = Drea|pmid=19804779|s2cid = 44037722}}</ref>

A number of lemur species are considered threatened; two species are [[critically endangered]], one species is [[endangered species|endangered]], and five species are rated as [[vulnerable species|vulnerable]].

== Habitat ==

The highly seasonal dry deciduous forest of Madagascar alternates between dry and wet seasons, making it uniquely suitable for lemurs. Lemur species diversity increases as the number of tree species in an area increase and is also higher in forests that have been disturbed over undisturbed areas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ganzhorn|first1=J. U.|last2=Malcomber|first2=S.|last3=Andrianantoanina|first3=O.|last4=Goodman|first4=S. M.|date=1997|title=Habitat Characteristics and Lemur Species Richness in Madagascar|journal=Biotropica|volume=29|issue=3|pages=331–343|issn=0006-3606|jstor=2389148|doi=10.1111/j.1744-7429.1997.tb00434.x|bibcode=1997Biotr..29..331G |s2cid=83650799 }}</ref> Evidence from the [[Subfossil]] records show that many of the now extinct lemurs actually lived in much drier climates than the currently extant lemurs.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|title = A glance to the past: subfossils, stable isotopes, seed dispersal, and lemur species loss in Southern Madagascar|journal = American Journal of Primatology|date = 2011-01-01|issn = 1098-2345|pages = 25–37|volume = 73|issue = 1|doi = 10.1002/ajp.20817|first1 = Brooke E.|last1 = Crowley|first2 = Laurie R.|last2 = Godfrey|first3 = Mitchell T.|last3 = Irwin|pmid=20205184|s2cid = 25469045|doi-access = free}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikispecies|Lemuridae}}
{{Commons category|Lemuridae}}

{{Primates}}
{{Lemuridae nav}}
{{Strepsirrhini|L.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q186462}}
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[[Category:Primate families]]
[[Category:Lemurs]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]
[[Category:Taxa described in 1821]]