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True lemurs (Lemuridae family) of Madagascar —


Ring-tailed lemurs
Red-fronted brown lemur
Grey Bamboo Lemur (Andasibe)
Grey Bamboo Lemur

The largest family of lemurs includes the best-known lemur species: the ring-tailed lemur. The ring-tailed lemur is recognizable by its black-and-white-banded tail, much like that of a raccoon, and is found in the dry and deciduous parts of Southwestern Madagascar. Unlike other lemurs, the ring-tailed lemur spends a good portion of its time on the ground.

Bamboo Lemurs
One of the most recently discovered (by Western science) large mammal species is the golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus), which was found on an expedition searching for the greater bamboo lemur (H. simius), which was believed to be extinct. The last known (at the time) greater bamboo lemur specimen died in captivity in the mid 1970s, and in 1986 an expedition was arranged to confirm that the species was extinct. The expedition found a previously undescribed bamboo-eating lemur with reddish gold fur, which was later named the golden bamboo lemur. Interestingly, Madagascar's forests support a third species of bamboo-eating lemur, the gentle bamboo lemur (H. griseus). These three species coexist by having specialized bamboo-feeding habits. The golden bamboo lemur, apparently tolerant of high concentrations of cyanide, eats the cyanide containing leaf bases, shoots, and piths of new-growth giant bamboo. The amount of cyanide consumed daily by this species is enough to kill three men. The greater bamboo lemur eats the mature pith of the same bamboo, while the gentle bamboo lemur eats the leaves of another bamboo species.

Lemuridae species:
FamilyCommon nameScientific nameLocal nameActivePictures
LemuridaeWhite-fronted LemurEulemur albifrons VarikaDiurnal
LemuridaeWhite-collared LemurEulemur albocollaris VarikaDiurnal
LemuridaeRed-collared LemurEulemur collaris VarikaDiurnal+
LemuridaeCrowned LemurEulemur coronatus VarikaDiurnal
LemuridaeBrown LemurEulemur fulvus Varikamavo, KombaDiurnal+
LemuridaeBlack LemurEulemur macaco Ankomba, KombaDiurnal+
LemuridaeMongoose LemurEulemur mongoz KombaDiurnal
LemuridaeRed-bellied LemurEulemur rubriventer VarikamenaDiurnal
LemuridaeRed-fronted LemurEulemur rufus Varika, VarikamavoDiurnal+
LemuridaeSanford's LemurEulemur sanfordi Ankomba, BeharavoakaDiurnal
LemuridaeAlaotran Gentle LemurHapalemur alaotrensis BandroDiurnal
LemuridaeGolden Gentle LemurHapalemur aureus Varibolomena, BokombolomenaDiurnal
LemuridaeGray Gentle LemurHapalemur griseus VaribolomadinikaDiurnal+
LemuridaeSambriano Gentle LemurHapalemur occidentalis Bekola, Kofi, Ankomba valihaDiurnal
LemuridaeRing-tailed LemurLemur catta Maki, HiraDiurnal+
LemuridaeBroad-nosed Gentle LemurProlemur simus Varibolomavo, Vari, VarikandraDiurnal
LemuridaeRed Ruffed LemurVarecia rubra VarimenaDiurnal+
LemuridaeBlack-and-White Ruffed LemurVarecia variegata VarijatsyDiurnal+


Lemur images
Bamboo lemur pictures
Black lemur pictures
Brown lemur pictures
Ring-tailed lemur pictures


Lemur links
Duke University's Lemur taxa - includes extinct lemur species



Find a mistake? Want to submit pictures or content? Contact WildMadagascar.org

Almost all pictures on this site were taken with a Konica Minolta








Recent articles

Madagascar fires mapped with Google Earth in real-time
Every year as much as one-third of Madagascar, one of the planet's most biodiverse islands, goes up in flames. Now a new tool gives scientists the ability to monitor and track Madagascar's fires in real-time through the Internet.


UNESCO lists rainforest parks of Madagascar as Heritage sites
(7/2/2007) UNESCO has listed six rainforest parks in Madagascar as World Heritage sites. The announcement comes as the Indian Ocean island nation has moved aggressively to protect its biologically-rich forests from further degradation.


Conservation is saving lemurs and helping people in Madagascar
(5/7/2007) Madagascar, an island nation that lies off the coast of southeastern Africa, has long been famous for its unique and diverse species of wildlife, especially lemurs--primates found nowhere else on the planet. In recent years, the island country has also become world-renowned for conservation efforts that are succeeding in spite of extraordinary pressures from a poor population that relies heavily on forest burning for basic subsistence. A large part of this success is due to the early efforts of Patricia Wright, a primatologist who has been working in the country for more than 20 years. Wright led the effort to launch the country's leading protected area and helped Madagascar become a leading global example of conservation despite its economic adversity.

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Unless otherwise noted, all content and images are the property of Rhett Butler, content copyright 2004-2007.
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