Greater bamboo lemur
| Greater Bamboo Lemur[1] | |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Lemuridae |
| Genus: | Prolemur Gray, 1871 |
| Species: | P. simus |
| Binomial name | |
| Prolemur simus (Gray, 1871) |
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| Greater Bamboo Lemur range | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Greater Bamboo Lemur (Prolemur simus), also known as the Broad-nosed Bamboo Lemur and the Broad-nosed Gentle Lemur, is the largest bamboo lemur, at over five pounds or nearly 2.5 kilograms. It has greyish brown fur and white ear tufts, and has a head-body length of around one and a half feet, or forty to fifty centimeters. It feeds almost exclusively on the bamboo species of Cathariostachys Madagascariensis, preferring the shoots but also eating the pith and leaves. It is not known how their metabolism deals with the cyanide found in the shoots; their typical daily dose would be enough to kill humans. However, Greater Bamboo Lemurs occasionally consume fungi, flowers, and fruit. Its only confirmed predator is the Fossa, but raptors are also suspected. Its range is only southeastern Madagascar, although fossils suggest its range was extensive, covering large amounts of the island. Some notable parts of the current range are the Ranomafana and Andringitra National Parks. The estimated wild population is around 130 individuals.
Greater Bamboo Lemurs live in groups of up to 28 lemurs and are extremely gregarious. However, the species may be the only lemur in which the male is dominant, although this is not definitively established. Because of the social nature of the species, Greater Bamboo Lemurs have at least seven different calls. Males have been observed taking the pith away from females that have put significant effort into opening the bamboo stems. The species is endangered by the following: slash and burn farming, mining, bamboo and other logging, and slingshot hunting. In captivity, Greater Bamboo Lemurs have lived over the age of 17.[3]
It has been named one of "The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates."[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M, eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 117. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12100058.
- ^ Andrainarivo, C., Andriaholinirina, V. N., Feistner, A., Felix, T., Ganzhorn, J., Garbutt, N., Golden, C., Konstant, B., Louis Jr., E., Meyers, D., Mittermeier, R. A., Perieras, A., Princee, F., Rabarivola, J. C., Rakotosamimanana, B., Rasamimanana, H., Ratsimbazafy, J., Raveloarinoro, G., Razafimanantsoa, A., Rumpler, Y., Schwitzer, C., Thalmann, U., Wilmé, L. & Wright, P. (2008). Prolemur simus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 1 January 2009.
- ^ Conniff, Richard (April 2006). "For the Love of Lemurs". Smithsonian (Smithsonian Institution) 37 (1): 102–109.
- ^ Oates, R.A.; Wallis, J.; Rylands, A.B. et al., eds (2009) (PDF). Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates 2008–2010. Illustrated by S.D. Nash. Arlington, VA.: IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), International Primatological Society (IPS), and Conservation International (CI). pp. 1–92. ISBN 978-1-934151-34-1. http://www.primate-sg.org/PDF/Primates.in.Peril.2008-2010.pdf.
[edit] External links
- http://info.bio.sunysb.edu/rano.biodiv/Mammals/Hapalemur-simus/index.html
- http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Hapalemur_sinus/more_info.html
- http://www.animalinfo.org/species/primate/hapasimu.htm
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