Ring-tailed lemurs belong to the family Lemuridae.
A unique and diverse group of primates, lemurs live only in Madagascar and the nearby Comoros Islands. Though unclear how, exactly, lemurs got to Madagascar from mainland Africa, scientists believe they came after the landmass split from continental Africa. Whether they crossed on floating vegetation or some other form of transportation, once the ancestral lemurs reached Madagascar they became isolated by the Indian Ocean. Much like Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands, the isolation encouraged a remarkable radiation of lemur species as they evolved the fill various niches on the islands. Today, 88 species survive. For easier classification, scientists group them into one of five families.
Lemuridae
Also known as true lemurs, the family Lemuridae includes the most recognizable of lemur species, the ringed-tailed lemur. Easily identified by their long, fluffy, black-and-white striped tails, many ring-tailed lemurs inhabit the zoos of the world. They use their tails for balance while moving through the trees. Unlike some monkey species, however, the lemurs can't use their tails for grasping or holding on. For a ring-tailed lemur, that's not a problem because, unique among lemurs, they spend a large portion of their time on the ground where there's no danger of falling. On the ground, they forage for food like fruit and leaves. Ring-tailed lemurs spend most of their lives in groups dominated by an alpha female. Known as troops, these groups sometimes include as many as 30 lemurs, but typically hold around 17.
Unfortunately, the same slash-and-burn farming techniques often referenced with the destruction of South American rain forests as well as destructive logging practices threaten the forests ring-tailed lemurs call home. Loss of this habitat has forced them onto the endangered species list.
Cheirogaleidae
The smallest of the lemurs belong to this family. Indeed, measuring in at less than 2 1/2 inches from head to rump, the pygmy mouse lemur is the smallest primate in the world, according to National Geographic. Living in groups of up to 15, these tiny lemurs spend most of their lives in the trees, sleeping during the day and coming awake at night to hunt insects or forage for fruit and plants. They have the ability to store excess fat in their hind legs and tail, an adaptation particularly useful when food is scarce. Mouse lemurs can store up to 35 percent of their body weight in this fashion, metabolizing it when food is hard to come by.
Though protected, many members of the cheirogaleidae family end up in captivity for the sake of the exotic pet trade. However, the destruction of their already limited habitat threatens these already endangered lemurs even more.
Megaladapidae
This family consists of a group of lemurs known as sportive lemurs. They share many characteristics with other lemur families like grasping fingers and long, bushy tails to help with balance in the trees. One interesting member of megaladapidae is the weasel sportive lemur. Weighing around 2 pounds, these brown and gray lemurs spend most of their time in trees like other lemurs. Their diet consists mostly of leaves though they eat fruit and flowers, too. Interestingly, weasel sportive lemurs employ a unique digestive strategy found in animals like rabbits. The lemurs use cecotropesto break down cellulose in leaves and extract all of the food energy. Cecotropes appear to be feces, but actually come from a special area of the digestive system called the cecum. The lemur re-ingests the cecotropes, and their bodies extracts the remaining nutrients. What appears to be a disgusting habit really just stretches a meal in a habitat where food can be scarce.
Certain lemurs in this family are critically endangered. A 2008-2010 report on the condition of primates worldwide warned that 100 individuals may be all that remains of the northern sportive lemur population in Madagascar.
Indriidae
The largest lemurs belong to this family. Though fossil records give evidence of gorilla-sized lemurs, today the biggest ones only reach around 4 feet from head to toe. A unique group of lemurs called sifakas also belong to indriidae. Named for the distinct sounds they make while moving through the Malagasy trees, sifakas distinguish themselves in another way as well. While most lemurs use all four limbs to deftly move between trees, sifakas rely only on their remarkably strong hind legs to get around. Whether in the trees where they spend most of their time or on the ground, these lemurs stay upright, hopping from place to place. Amazingly, they sometimes cover as much as 30 feet in a single bound. Using this method of transport, sifakas take advantage of the hours between sunrise and sunset to forage for a wide variety of plant life, nesting in the trees after dark.
Like other lemur species, sifakas are endangered. Habitat destruction and a market for their meat constitute their biggest threats. However, these lucky lemurs have a special form of protection. Local custom in Madagascar considers the flesh of sifakas taboo.
Daubentoniidae
The daubentoniidae family has only one bizarre member. With enormous eyes, a bushy tail bigger than its body and a fingers-in-the-light-socket look to its fur, the aye-aye appears otherworldly. They spend their lives avoiding the ground, moving through the treetops only at night. Though many lemurs boast unique abilities and adaptations, the aye-aye may be the most specialized. Equipped with opposable big toes, allowing them to hang upside down from limbs, and long, thin middle fingers on each hand, it's believed that aye-ayes employ echolocation, like bats, to find their meals. No other primates use this method. The strange middle fingers are the key. By tapping them against tree trunks and listening, aye-ayes detect insect larvae tunneling beneath the surface. The finger then turns into a tool to fish the bugs from their holes. When they tire of eating insects, aye-ayes also use their fingers to scoop out the tasty insides of fruit.
Aye-ayes don't share the same traditional good-fortune as sifakas. Indeed, local custom deems this one-of-a-kind creature a foreboding sign of bad luck. Accordingly, many aye-ayes are killed on sight. Practices like these, combined with destruction of the forests they call home, have made the aye-aye a critically endangered species.
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