Ring Tailed Lemur Research Paper

The island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, is home to many endemic species of plants and animals since of its relative isolation after it split from India around 88 million years ago (Ratsirarson 2003). A primate who is native to the island of Madagascar is the Lemur Catta, also known as the ring-tailed lemur. Lemur Catta are endemic to southern and southwestern Madagascar, with an additional population on the southeastern plateau of the Andringita Mountains. The ring tailed lemur’s classification is of the following, Domain: Eukaryota, Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Subphylum: Vertebrata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Primates, Family: Lemuridae, Genus: Lemus, and Specific Epithet: Lemur Catta. The reason why this species of
They are most known for their long tails which have a fur pattern of alternating black and white rings. Male Ring-tailed lemurs have black scent glands on their wrists and chest in which they use during mating season. These Lemurs also have heterodant teeth, which is well adapted for their diet of fruits, seeds and leaves. Ring-tailed Lemurs are also active, tree-dwelling primates with a cat like nose, whiskers, and amber colored bead-like eyes. Although Lemurs do not have exceptional eyesight, they do have a great sense of smell with had adapted to recompensate for its other senses. L. Catta have bilateral symmetry, with a head and body length of 385 to 455 mm. Their most noticeable characteristic, their tail, is actually longer than their body, measuring 560 to 624 mm. Their tails have also been engineered for better balance when jumping from branch to branch. Individuals only weigh between 2.3 and 3.5 kg therefore making it easy for them to maneuver through trees. Another great adaptation that they have developed for tree climbing is the long nails on their fingers and toes in order to have a better grasp on tree
Their quadrupedal locomotion allows them to travel by foot, on the ground, while other Lemur species travel by jumping from tree to tree. Although they do prefer gallery forests their habitat also varies to open brush/scrub forests. (Grskey and K.A.I. 127-146). Of course, the range in L. Catta’s habitat size is directly proportional to the growth in need of resources and deforestation caused by humans. These lemurs are “frugivorous/folivorous primates that can shift their diet toward either leaves or fruits as one main food category in different seasons” depending on the season and what is available (Mowry B. and Campbell L. ) They have also been seen eating termites and other small insects in rare occasions. This flexibility in food source is an adaptation to their variable