The sportive lemurs are the 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 ...

s that make up the family Lepilemuridae. The family consists of only one extant genus, ''Lepilemur''. They are closely related to the other

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagas ...

s and exclusively live on the island of

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 ...

. For a time, this family was named Megaladapidae, but the current name was given precedence since the extinct genus ''

Megaladapis ''Megaladapis'' ("Great ''Adapis''" from Ancient Greek μεγαλος (megalos), "great, big" + Modern Latin ''Adapis'', "'' Adapis''"), informally known as the koala lemur, was a genus belonging to the family Megaladapidae, consisting of thre ...

'' was removed from the family.

Etymology

French zoologist

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (16 December 1805 – 10 November 1861) was a French zoology, zoologist and an authority on deviation from normal structure. In 1854 he coined the term ''éthologie'' (ethology). Biography He was born in Paris ...

first described the genus ''Lepilemur'' in 1851, prefixing the existing genus ''Lemur'' with the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''lepidus'' ("pleasant" or "pretty"). However, it was erroneously spelled—a mistake later authors unsuccessfully attempted to correct to ''Lepidolemur''. Members of the monogeneric family Lepilemuridae are referred to as either sportive or weasel lemurs. "Sportive lemur", which is more commonly used, was coined by

Henry Ogg Forbes Henry Ogg Forbes LLD (30 January 1851 – 27 October 1932) was a Scottish explorer, ornithologist, and botanist. He also described a new species of spider, '' Thomisus decipiens''. Biography Forbes was the son of Rev Alexander Forbes M.A. (182 ...

in 1894. Though he did not explain the name choice, he did mention the agility of ''Lepilemur''. "Weasel lemur" is an older common name, dating to the 1863 publication of ''Cassell's Popular National History''. Dunkel ''et al.'' speculated that was inspired by the species name ''L. mustelinus'', which means "weasel-like" in Latin. They were named ''weasel lemurs'' for their swiftness like that of

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family ...

Classification

* Family Lepilemuridae: sportive lemurs ** Genus ''Lepilemur'' *** AEECL's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur aeeclis'') *** Ahmanson's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur ahmansonorum'') *** Ankarana sportive lemur (''Lepilemur ankaranensis'') *** Betsileo sportive lemur (''Lepilemur betsileo'') *** Gray-backed sportive lemur (''Lepilemur dorsalis'') *** Milne-Edwards' sportive lemur (''Lepilemur edwardsi'') *** Fleurete's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur fleuretae'') ***

Grewcock's sportive lemur Grewcock's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur grewcockorum''), or the Anjiamangirana sportive lemur, is a sportive lemur endemic to Madagascar. It is a medium-sized sportive lemurs with a total length of about , of which are tail. Grewcock's sportiv ...

(''Lepilemur grewcockorum'') *** Holland's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur hollandorum'') *** Hubbard's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur hubbardorum'') *** James' sportive lemur (''Lepilemur jamesorum'') *** White-footed sportive lemur (''Lepilemur leucopus'') *** Small-toothed sportive lemur (''Lepilemur microdon'') *** Daraina sportive lemur (''Lepilemur milanoii'') *** Mittermeier's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur mittermeieri'') *** Weasel sportive lemur (''Lepilemur mustelinus'') *** Otto's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur otto'') *** Petter's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur petteri'') *** Randrianasolo's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur randrianasoloi'') *** Red-tailed sportive lemur (''Lepilemur ruficaudatus'') ***

Sahamalaza sportive lemur The Sahamalaza sportive lemur (''Lepilemur sahamalaza'') is a species of sportive lemur endemic to northern Madagascar. Taxonomy The sportive lemurs (Lepilemuridae) constitute a family with only a single genus, ''Lepilemur''. Relationships withi ...

(''Lepilemur sahamalazensis'') *** Scott's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur scottorum'') *** Seal's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur seali'') *** Northern sportive lemur (''Lepilemur septentrionalis'') *** Hawks' sportive lemur (''Lepilemur tymerlachsoni'') *** Wright's sportive lemur (''Lepilemur wrightae'')

Physical characteristics

Their fur is grey brown or reddish colored on the top and whitish yellow underneath. They typically have a short head with large, round ears. They grow to a length of (with a tail just about as long as their body) and weigh up to . Their eyes have a

tapetum lucidum The ''tapetum lucidum'' ( ; ; ) is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrates and some other animals. Lying immediately behind the retina, it is a retroreflector. It reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light a ...

behind the retina, hence they have eyeshine.

Behaviour and ecology

Sportive lemurs are strictly nocturnal and predominantly

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

, moving among the trees with long jumps powered by their strong hind legs. On the ground, they hop similarly to the

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

. During the day they hide in leafy covering or

tree hollow A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. They are found mainly in old trees, whether living or not. Hollows form in many species of trees, and are a prominent feature of nat ...

s. Sportive lemurs are mostly solitary and defend their territory against same sex intruders. The territories of males and females can overlap. They are mainly herbivores and their diet consists predominantly of leaves. Birthing happens between September and December after a gestation of 120 to 150 days, and is usually of a single young which is often reared in a nest in a tree hollow. At about four months the juveniles are weaned but remain with their mother up to an age of one year. At about 18 months they are fully mature, and live to be about eight years old.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q834470 Folivores Sportive lemurs