Lemur cattaring-tailed lemur

Ge­o­graphic Range

Ring-tailed lemurs are found only in south­ern and south­west­ern Mada­gas­car. They pre­fer gallery forests, forests near and fol­low­ing the river­banks, but can be found in dry scrub, mon­tane humid forests, and de­cid­u­ous forests. They tol­er­ate a tem­per­a­ture range of -12 to 48 Cel­sius. (Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 2012; Suss­man, 1991; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

Habi­tat

Ring-tailed lemurs are found in three dis­tinct habi­tats in south and south­west­ern Mada­gas­car: con­tin­u­ous canopy for­est, brush and scrub forests, and mixed forests. Con­tin­u­ous canopy forests in this re­gion are dom­i­nated by Tamarind trees (Tamarindas in­dica) and other large trees reach­ing 20-25 me­ters in height. Brush and scrub forests are drier than open forests and lower in height. Al­though ring-tailed lemurs are found in all tree habi­tats, they are most com­monly found in the con­tin­u­ous canopy forests. (Bud­nitz and Dai­nis, 1975; Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 1991; Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

  • Range elevation
    2,600 (high) m
    ft

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Ring-tailed lemurs have a body length rang­ing from 39 to 46 cm in length with a tail rang­ing in length from 56 to 63cm and an av­er­age body weight of 2.2 kg. The body, cov­ered in a thick, dense fur, is a solid color rang­ing from gray to brown, with a long, thick tail. The tail has thick, well de­fined, black and white rings from stem to tip. Typ­i­cally, in­di­vid­u­als have a white face mask, with black out­lin­ing the eyes and nose. They have a lighter col­ored un­der­belly rang­ing from light gray or brown, to white. Ring-Tailed Lemurs have four thin fin­gers and a thumb on their upper and lower ap­pendages, each end­ing in a dark col­ored nail. The thumbs on the upper ap­pendages are not op­pos­able as the joint is fixed. The first toe on the lower ap­pendage is op­pos­able, is used while climb­ing trees in the mid and upper level canopy. (Cawthon lang, 2005; Gould, et al., 2003; Suss­man, 1991; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • sexes alike
  • female larger
  • Average mass
    2.2 kg
    4.85 lb
  • Average mass
    2555 g
    90.04 oz
    AnAge
  • Range length
    39 to 46 mm
    1.54 to 1.81 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

Ring-tailed lemurs begin mat­ing in April, with a ges­ta­tion pe­riod of 130 to 144 days, giv­ing birth be­gin­ning in Au­gust and fin­ish­ing in Sep­tem­ber. Fe­males are not re­pro­duc­tively ac­tive until 2.5 years of age, and fe­males of 3 to 4 years of age have a higher chance of suc­cess con­ceiv­ing and giv­ing birth to healthy off­spring than younger fe­males. Fe­males typ­i­cally give birth to one or two off­spring, more com­monly fe­males will only have one. Fe­males typ­i­cally mate with more than one male dur­ing es­trous. Males will com­pete amongst them­selves for the right to mate with the fe­males. (Cawthon lang, 2005; Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

Fe­males typ­i­cally give birth to one or two off­spring, more com­monly fe­males will only have one. Off­spring are com­pletely cared for by the mother. New­borns spend their first two weeks of life rid­ing on the un­der­bel­lies of their moth­ers. After the first two weeks the young ride on the backs of their moth­ers and begin to ex­plore their sur­round­ings. The males in the troops do very lit­tle for the young. The young are weaned start­ing at eight weeks of age, until they are fully weaned at five months, all nu­tri­tion is ob­tained from the mother. There is a high in­fant mor­tal­ity rate; 30 to 50% of in­fants do not make it through their first year of life. This mor­tal­ity rate de­creases if the mother is older in age, or has pre­vi­ously given birth. (Cawthon lang, 2005; Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

  • Breeding interval
    Ring-tailed lemurs breed once yearly
  • Breeding season
    The breeding season is from April to May.
  • Range number of offspring
    1 to 2
  • Average number of offspring
    1
  • Average number of offspring
    1.1
    AnAge
  • Range gestation period
    130 to 144 days
  • Average weaning age
    5 months
  • Average time to independence
    1 years
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    595 days
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    Sex: female
    595 days
    AnAge
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    912 days
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    Sex: male
    912 days
    AnAge

Care of the young lies solely with the mother, with males in the group have lit­tle to no im­pact on rais­ing young. Fe­males are re­spon­si­ble for groom­ing, feed­ing, wean­ing, and teach­ing their young. Fe­males in the troop have been fre­quently ob­served car­ing for other fe­male's off­spring as well as babysit­ting, feed­ing and groom­ing. (Cawthon lang, 2005; Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

  • Parental Investment
  • altricial
  • female parental care
  • pre-fertilization
    • provisioning
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-independence
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female
  • post-independence association with parents
  • extended period of juvenile learning
  • inherits maternal/paternal territory

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Ring-tailed lemurs typ­i­cally live to be 16 years old, with the old­est known ring-tailed lemur liv­ing to be 33 years old in cap­tiv­ity. Lim­its to lifes­pan in the wild in­clude habi­tat loss and lim­ited re­sources. (Cawthon lang, 2005; Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 2012)

  • Range lifespan
    Status: wild
    33 (high) years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: wild
    27 years
  • Range lifespan
    Status: captivity
    33 (high) years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: captivity
    30 years
  • Typical lifespan
    Status: wild
    30 (high) years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: wild
    27 years
  • Typical lifespan
    Status: captivity
    33 (high) years
  • Average lifespan
    Status: captivity
    30 years

Be­hav­ior

Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups of 15 to 20 in­di­vid­u­als called troops. Fe­males stay with the same troop they were born into, while the males will typ­i­cally move be­tween troops every 2 to 5 years. These troops are highly so­cial with com­plex in­ter­ac­tions. Hi­er­ar­chy is typ­i­cally es­tab­lished in their youth through rough and tum­ble play. All fe­males are dom­i­nant over all males. The low­est rank­ing fe­male is still higher in the so­cial hi­er­ar­chy than the high­est rank­ing male. (Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

  • Range territory size
    0.06 to 0.23 km^2

Home Range

Ring-tailed lemurs have a daily home range of 1000 me­ters from where they woke up. The troop will slowly me­an­der from just be­fore dawn until dusk look­ing for food. Troops will have a larger home range if their habi­tat has more sparse re­sources. (Gould, et al., 2003)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Ring-tailed lemur com­mu­ni­ca­tion is com­plex. Vi­sual com­mu­ni­ca­tion sig­nals, such as body pos­tures and fa­cial ex­pres­sions are used, in ad­di­tion to vocal com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Ring tailed lemurs are known to use scent mark­ing, and even to en­gage in "stink bat­tles" with one an­other, where se­cre­tions from scent glands are rubbed onto the tail, then wafted at op­pos­ing an­i­mals. Tac­tile com­mu­ni­ca­tion is im­por­tant be­tween moth­ers and their young, as well as be­tween mates. This in­cludes groom­ing, play, and mat­ing. (Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

Food Habits

Ring-tailed lemurs are op­por­tunis­tic om­ni­vores. They can and will eat what­ever is eas­ily avail­able to them in­clud­ing fruits, leaves, stems, flow­ers, ex­u­dates (resin, latex, sap), spi­ders, spi­der webs, chameleons, cater­pil­lars in­sects, small birds, and ter­mite mounds. The most im­por­tant food source in the fruit from the Tamarind tree. The Tamarind is found in all three habits where lemurs are known to live. (Bud­nitz and Dai­nis, 1975; Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

  • Animal Foods
  • birds
  • mammals
  • reptiles
  • eggs
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods
  • terrestrial worms
  • Plant Foods
  • leaves
  • roots and tubers
  • wood, bark, or stems
  • seeds, grains, and nuts
  • fruit
  • nectar
  • flowers
  • sap or other plant fluids

Pre­da­tion

Ring-tailed lemurs travel in groups, known as troops, to deter preda­tors that hunt sin­gu­lar prey. Preda­tory pres­sure can come from rap­tor birds, fos­sas (Cryp­to­procta ferox), civets (Civet­tic­tis civetta), do­mes­tic cats (Felis catus), snakes, and brown lemurs (Eu­le­mur ful­vus). (Cawthon lang, 2005; Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

Ecosys­tem Roles

Ring-tailed lemurs con­tribute to the ecosys­tem by spread­ing seeds through their feces. Along with the other species of lemurs they are re­spon­si­ble for sev­eral wildlife re­serves being put into place. These re­serves help pre­serve the en­vi­ron­ment all other plant and an­i­mal species in the area. They also con­tribute to other food webs as a food source for fos­sas and civets. (Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

  • Ecosystem Impact
  • disperses seeds
  • creates habitat

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Ring-tailed lemurs have al­ready im­proved the econ­omy of Mada­gas­car. Ring-tailed lemurs are a com­mon draw for eco­tourism in the south­ern and south­west­ern por­tion of the is­land coun­try. (Cawthon lang, 2005; Gould, et al., 2003; Sauther, 2012)

  • Positive Impacts
  • ecotourism
  • research and education
  • controls pest population

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

There are no neg­a­tive im­pacts of ring-tailed lemurs on hu­mans. (Sauther, 2012; Wil­son and Han­lon, 2010)

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Ring-tailed lemurs are clas­si­fied as Near Threat­ened (NT) on the IUCN Red List in Ap­pen­dix I of CITES.

Con­trib­u­tors

Emma Baumhofer (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Wis­con­sin Stevens Point, Christo­pher Yahnke (ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Wis­con­sin-Stevens Point, Tanya Dewey (ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Ethiopian

living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

arboreal

Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

detritus

particles of organic material from dead and decomposing organisms. Detritus is the result of the activity of decomposers (organisms that decompose organic material).

ecotourism

humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

female parental care

parental care is carried out by females

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

island endemic

animals that live only on an island or set of islands.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

omnivore

an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals

pheromones

chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species

polygynandrous

the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.

rainforest

rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.

saltatorial

specialized for leaping or bounding locomotion; jumps or hops.

scent marks

communicates by producing scents from special gland(s) and placing them on a surface whether others can smell or taste them

scrub forest

scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

visual

uses sight to communicate

viviparous

reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.

Ref­er­ences

Bud­nitz, N., K. Dai­nis. 1975. Lemur catta: Ecol­ogy and Be­hav­ior. Lon­don: Plenum Press.

Cawthon lang, K. 2005. "Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) Tax­on­omy, Mor­phol­ogy, & Ecol­ogy" (On-line). Pri­mate Info Net. Ac­cessed March 10, 2015 at http://​pin.​primate.​wisc.​edu/​factsheets/​entry/​ring-tailed_​lemur.

Gould, L., R. Suss­man, M. Sauther. 2003. De­mo­graphic and life-his­tory pat­terns in a pop­u­la­tion of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at Beza Ma­hafaly Re­serve, Mada­gas­car: A 15-year per­spec­tive. Amer­i­can Jour­nal of Phys­i­cal An­thro­pol­ogy, 120 (2): 182-194. Ac­cessed Feb­ru­ary 27, 2015 at http://​onlinelibrary.​wiley.​com/​doi/​10.​1002/​ajpa.​10151/​full.

Grz­imek, B. 1990. Mam­mals. Pp. 540-545 in B Grz­imek, ed. An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia, Vol. I-IV, I-IV Edi­tion. New York: Mc­Graw Hill Pub­lish­ing Com­pany.

Sauther, M. 1991. Re­pro­duc­tive Be­hav­ior of Free-Rang­ing Lemur catta at Beza Ma­hafaly Spe­cial Re­serve, Mada­gas­car. Amer­i­can Jour­nal of Phys­i­cal An­thro­pol­ogy, 84: 463-477.

Sauther, M. 2012. "Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)" (On-line). Wild­screen Arkive. Ac­cessed March 07, 2015 at http://​www.​arkive.​org/​ring-tailed-lemur/​lemur-catta/​.

Suss­man, R. 1991. De­mog­ra­phy and So­cial Or­ga­ni­za­tion of Free-Rang­ing Lemur catta in the Beza Ma­hafaly Re­serve, Mada­gas­car. Amer­i­can Jour­nal of Phys­i­cal An­thro­pol­ogy, 84: 43-58.

Wil­son, D., E. Han­lon. 2010. Lemur Catta (Pri­mates: Lemuri­dae). Mam­malian Species, 42 (854): 58-74. Ac­cessed Feb­ru­ary 27, 2015 at http://​www.​mammalsociety.​org/​uploads/​Wilson%20and%20Hanlon%202010.​pdf.