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Photos - October 2007

Lemurs

October 29th 2007 12:14

The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night," or "ghost(s)" and likely refers to the large, reflective eyes which many of the nocturnal lemur species have.

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). Fossil evidence indicates that they made their way across the ocean after Madagascar broke away from the continent of Africa. While their ancestors 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 (1 oz) Pygmy Mouse Lemur to the 10 kilogram (22 lb) Indri. The larger species, some of which weighed up to 240 kg, have all become extinct since humans settled on Madagascar, and since the early 20th century the largest lemurs reach about 7 kilograms (15 lbs). Typically, the smaller lemurs are active at night (nocturnal), while the larger ones are active during the day.

All lemurs are endangered species or threatened species. Many species went extinct in the last centuries, mainly due to habitat destruction (deforestation) and hunting. Although conservation efforts are under way, options are limited because of the lemurs' limited range and because of Madagascar's economic situation. There are 85 living lemur species accounted for in current publications.

Ring Tailed Lemurs sitting down relaxing

*These images used with permission from Damn Funny Pictures.

**This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation Licence. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Lemur.

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Posted By: Ian - Category: animals

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