The gray-headed lemur (''Eulemur cinereiceps''), or gray-headed brown lemur, is a medium-sized

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

, a

cathemeral Cathemerality, sometimes called metaturnality, is an organismal activity pattern of irregular intervals during the day or night in which food is acquired, socializing with other organisms occurs, and any other activities necessary for livelihood ar ...

species of

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 exist ...

in the family

Lemuridae Lemuridae is a family of strepsirrhine primates native to Madagascar and the Comoros. They are represented by the Lemuriformes in Madagascar with one of the highest concentration of the lemurs. One of five families commonly known as lemurs. Thes ...

. Until a taxonomic revision in 2008, it was known as the white-collared brown lemur or white-collared lemur (''Eulemur albocollaris''). It lives in south-eastern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. In 2005, satellite imagery estimates showed approximately of total remaining habitat within its geographic range. It is highly

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

by hunting and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and was considered to be among the 25 most endangered primates in 2006–2008. It is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) due to a highly restricted range, and has been named one of "

The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates is a list of highly endangered primate species selected and published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Primate Specialist Group (PSG), the In ...

." The gray-headed lemur is only found in southeastern Madagascar, from the

Manampatrana River ''Manampatrana '' is a river in the region of Atsimo-Atsinanana in south-eastern Madagascar. It flows into the Indian Ocean near Farafangana Farafangana is a city (commune urbaine) on the south-east coast of Madagascar and capital of the Atsim ...

south to the

Mananara River The Mananara River is one of the main rivers in eastern Madagascar. Its mouth is located at the Indian Ocean near the city of Vangaindrano in the Atsimo-Atsinanana Atsimo-Atsinanana (South East) is a region in Madagascar. Its capital is Farafan ...

Change in taxonomy

Recent genetic and morphological evidence has suggested that the former name, ''E. albocollaris'', was actually a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of ''E. cinereiceps''. Consequently, the common name gray-headed lemur and the scientific name ''Eulemur cinereiceps'' were resurrected to replace white-collared brown lemur and ''E. albocollaris'' respectively. Previously, this species was listed as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

common brown lemur The common brown lemur (''Eulemur fulvus'') is a species of lemur in the family Lemuridae. It is found in Madagascar and has been introduced to Mayotte. Taxonomy Five additional currently recognized species of lemur were until 2001 considered s ...

until elevated to species status in 2001. However, genetic and field studies still support subspecies status under the

biological species concept The species problem is the set of questions that arises when biologists attempt to define what a species is. Such a definition is called a species concept; there are at least 26 recognized species concepts. A species concept that works well for se ...

References

True lemurs Endemic fauna of Madagascar Mammals of Madagascar Critically endangered fauna of Africa Mammals described in 1890 Fauna of the Madagascar lowland forests Taxa named by Alfred Grandidier Taxa named by Alphonse Milne-Edwards {{lemur-stub