Lemur
Cheirogaleidae
Lemuridae
Megaladapidae
Indridae
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Lemurs are part of a class of
primates known as
prosimians, and make up the infraorder
Lemuriformes. These animals are the evolutionary predecessors 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 four families of prosimians:
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 about 30 grams to perhaps as large as 200 kilograms. 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).
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 32 living lemur species.
One of the foremost lemur research facilities is the Duke University Primate Center. http://www.duke.edu/web/primate/
