About Lemur Club

Well... it's a long story, check back later... we're still writing it ourselves... ._.

But enjoy this read about lemurs

Lemurs are a type of prosimian, which means they are primates that evolved before monkeys and apes. They are more primitive than their cousins but share certain characteristics. Found in only one area on Earth—Madagascar and the nearby Comoro Islands—lemurs are considered the world’s most endangered group of mammals. Today there are over 100 lemur species. Their lemur-like primate ancestor is thought to have rafted over to Madagascar from Africa about 60 million years ago. With no competition from other primates and little predation, the original lemurs evolved to fill a large number of varying niches on the island. If you did not know what a lemur was, you might guess that it was related to a cat, squirrel, mouse, or dog. Lemurs are generally small in size, and their face somewhat resembles a mouse’s face in smaller species or a fox’s face in larger species. Many lemur species have a snout, and all have a wet and hairless nose with curved nostrils, which is unique among primates and makes them superior sniffers. They have five digits on front and hind limbs, and some species have longer hind limbs than forelimbs for jumping. Their tail is not prehensile and varies in length, depending on the species. Lemurs range greatly in size from the mouse lemurs to the indri. Lemurs have bright round eyes and soft fur that varies in color, depending on the species. The most common lemur colors are white, gray, black, brown, and red-brown. In some species, males and females have different coloring. For example, in blue-eyed black lemurs, males are solid black and females are reddish-brown. Lemurs that are diurnal (active during the daytime) ,are social and live in family groups or troops. They follow the safety-in-numbers idea, using alarm calls when a predator is spotted to inform the rest of the group. Nocturnal lemurs do not live in large groups, but have the cover of night to help protect them. And, some lemurs are active day and night. The primary predator of lemurs is the fossa, although they can fall prey to large boas, hawks, and introduced species, as well. The aye-aye—one of a kind: The aye-aye is covered in coarse, black hair with white tips. It has a long, bushy tail and large radar-like ears. Its large incisor teeth are like a rodent’s in that they never stop growing. This allows the aye-aye to chew through tree bark and nuts to find grubs to eat. The aye-aye has a specialized middle finger adapted for finding and pulling out grubs. This specialized finger is very thin and bare. It fits in small holes that the aye-aye has gnawed. With its sensitive ears, an aye-aye can hear grubs moving under bark and then tap its middle finger on the tree until it finds the right spot to pry open.