TO KNOW:

RECOGNIZE BETTER KNOWN GENERA GENUSCOMMON NAMEDISTINGUISHING/INTERESTING

CHARACTERISTICSBooks on reserve and ppt’s

LEMURIFORMES OF MADAGASCAR

ALL ENDANGERED

HUMANS ARRIVED 1.5 kya

LEMURIDAE(low sexual dimorphism)

True lemurs Multi-male/female Some dichromatic Cathemeral – important pollinators (black lemurs more nocturnal than

diurnal - night blooms) Semi-terrestrial quadruped with VCL capabilities FFTK: Brown lemurs salivate on millipedes and roll between hands before

eating

Crowned Black (♀ orange) Brown Mongoose

Eulemur

Lemur

1 species: L. catta - ring-tailed lemur Cat-sized, ~6# Herbivores Suffer seasonal periods of food scarcity

Most terrestrial

Large multi-male/female groups Even in face of food shortages Additional protection from predators

Core of females which are dominant to males in food contests

Vulnerable to predators Have distinct alarm calls –

aerial vs. terrestrial Males stink fight

Polyspecific association - brown lemurs

HapalemurGentle or bamboo

lemur

3 sympatric species at 1 site Diet Cyanogenic compounds Niche partitioning: plant part,

(level, time?)

SETH PALMER IN MADAGASCAR

11” WALKING STICK!!!

1 species: V. variegata - ruffed lemur

Only large lemur to give birth to multiple offspring

Don’t survive well in logged areas – eat large fruit from large trees

Varecia

MEGALADAPIDAE

Sportive, weasel lemurs Broad distribution 1 sp cannot survive well in

logged areas – cannot sustain themselves moving too far between trees

Small, drab-colored Nocturnal VCL’s Territorial –↑scars ↑Leaves, ↓activity, copraphagic Solitary or pairs Single births, parking

Lepilemur

CHEIROGALEIDAE

Smallest and most primitive lemuriformes

Nocturnal Nest-building - sleep in nests or tree holes during

day Some hibernate for as long as 6-9 mos Most store fat in tail 3 pairs nipples Usually multiple offspring (1-4 depending on

species)

Allocebus

Hairy-eared dwarf lemur Thought extinct (critically endangered) Rediscovered in 1989 1 location in N Madagascar

Cheirogaleus

Dwarf/fat-tailed lemurs

Most abundant and widespread of lemurs

M. myoxinus – pygmy mouse lemur Smallest primate Adults – 1 oz

Microcebus

Infants 1/5 oz, adults 2 oz Females > males Fat (base of tail) - seasonally can increase wt 4x Arboreal quadrupeds but may travel on ground Most faunivorous but ↓% of diet

M. murinusMouse lemurs

Solitary foragers Dispersed polygyny social

system Females may congregate

in nests Males tolerate one

another and may sleep together until mating season

Dominant male suppresses subordinate males via urine pheromones

Highest predation rates of all primates

2-3 offspring up to twice/yr

Coquerel's dwarf lemur Don’t store fat in tail In addition to usual

scent marking, practice scent discharge – perceptible to humans

M. coquereli

1 species: fork-marked lemur Gum specialists:

Reinforced fingernails for clinging Upper and lower procumbent

incisors, long canines Long narrow tongue Large cecum

Phaner

INDRIDAE

3 genera which differ in size and activity patterns Specialized leapers with long limbs especially

hindlimbs Usually single births with long birth intervals 2 of 3 monogamous Herbivorous

1 species – A. laniger -Woolly lemur

Alarm call sounds like name in Malagasy “a ha hy”

Nocturnal

Avahi

Territorial pairsMale and female

stay in close contact, resting or grooming ↑40% of night

Sifaka Long limbs, tail Diurnal

Propithecus

One-male or multi-male Infanticide reported Verreaux’s sifaka

Females dominant to males

Have distinct alarm calls – aerial vs. terrestrial

Critically endangered P. candidus

VCL Bipedally hop on

ground

Indri

Indris or babakotos (“little man of the forest”) Diurnal

Largest – 13-16# Short stubby tail (vs

sifaka)

Duet - spacing mechanism

Territorial pairs – mate face-to-face hanging under branch!

Geophagic High feed, low social

DAUBENTONIIDAE

Daubentoniaaye-aye

Largest nocturnal primate Possibly most widely

distributed but low density Medium size - ~5 ½# Good hearing, smell, and

manual dexterity → large brain

Mate hanging upside down (1hr)!

Large continuously growing rodent-like incisors 1.0.(1).3/1.0.0.3

Skeletal 3rd digit Metacarpo-

phalangeal joint is ball and socket vs. condylar

Nocturnal arboreal quadrupededs Some fear – kill chickens and don’t fear humans Some believe good luck

Specialize on grub/larvae Also eat fruit, coconuts

Hunt by audition, gnaw bark w/ incisors, probe w/ 3rd digit

Niche of woodpecker

Crop raiders for coconuts and sugar cane

Build leaf nests Solitary foragers but observed in multi-adult groups

BUT Rowe says male overlaps females but females seldom overlap

A creature only a mother could love!!!

Future chicken killer…YIKES!!!

AFRICA

GALAGONIDAE

Galago

Bushbabies – some sound like babies crying

All species are sympatric with congeners

Small nocturnal VCL’s Solitary foragers Dispersed polygyny Female philopatric Females sleep together in

nests

TOO CUTE!!!!

In unpredictable areas have 2 litters per year

High insects and gums Male dominance hierarchy based on age and weight

Other species Otolemur – Greater

bushbaby – largest Galagoides – Demidoff’s

or Zanzibar bushbaby –endangered – when interacting with adults, if kids hold tail in corkscrew pose, not attacked

Euoticus – Needle-clawed bushbaby – clawlike nails used to cling/climb - gumnivory

LORIDAE Slow for most part IMI~100 Scapular shield:

Elongated cervical spines (hump)

Butt, bite, drop Singletons Some parking Opposable thumbs

Perodicticus

Potto (“softly” - soft, slow, silent)

Forests, savanna, plantations

Central and west Africa 1.8-3.5# Short bottle-brush tail Solitary foragers but can be

social – groom, play, fight Hunt by olfaction

Slow climber with nose to branch

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Low insects ~10%, high FR 65% gums 21%

Dispersed polygyny ~Monomorphic Infanticide

Angwantibos Smaller, slender Slow climber High insects w/ some fruit Similar social organization

as pottos

Arctocebus

Pseudopotto I know nothing!

Pseudopotto

ASIA

Loris

Slender loris - "banana on stilts" Arboreal quadruped High insects Solitary foragers – males may sleep together or 1 or

more with female (Nekaris)

Slow lorises Wide geographic range Tropical rainforest Stockier Slow climbers – can move on top or under branch Powerful grasp – reduced 2nd digit with 1st and 3rd coming

together Fruit, insects (especially slow ones), eggs, cocoa Solitary foragers No parking - precocious young cling

Nyctocebus

Can sneak up on prey and strike with great speed by perching on its feet and throwing the body forward

Slow loris

Toxin in glands in elbows Lick - Mixes with saliva –

• Fur

• Parked offspring Nauseates predators Can kill mice

When threatened Hold hands above to lick toxins

in preparation for the fight

TARSIIDAE

TarsiusTarsiers

Multiple species on various islands

Small (adults: 4-5 oz) Anatomical intermediates:

Grooming claws, multiple nipples

Postorbital closure (but Beard), foveal retina, nasal anatomy, efficient placenta

Claws on 2nd and 3rd toes

T. Syrichta (Philippine Tarsier)

T. Bancanus (Horsfield’s tarsier)

T. Spectrum (spectral tarsier)

T. Pumilus (pygymy tarsier)

T. Dianae (Dian’s tarsier)

Brain is smooth like carnivores

Huge eyes - >brain or stomach

Nocturnal but foveal retina

Totally faunivorous –

large insects and small animals

Large hands and feet - adaptation for clinging and grasping prey

Long legs with many adaptations for VCL >3m

Solitary, pairs, or multi-male, depending on species

Relatively large offspring

Conservation

Philippine tarsiers, spectral tarsiers, Dian’s tarsiers and Horsfield’s tarsiers are all on conservation lists (lower risk)