The greater bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur simus''), also known as the broad-nosed bamboo lemur and the broad-nosed gentle lemur, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to 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 ...

Taxonomy

Originally described as ''Hapalemur (Prolemur) simus'' by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

in 1870, it was regarded simply as ''Hapalemur simus'' as early as 1880. With the understanding that this species is more closely related to the

ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ge ...

(''Lemur catta'') than to the other ''Hapalemur'' species,

Colin Groves Colin Peter Groves (24 June 1942 – 30 November 2017) was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist. Groves was Professor of Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Education Born in Englan ...

resurrected ''Prolemur'' as a full genus in 2001, with this species as its only member. More recent research by Herrera and Dávalos (2016) indicates that the species is sister to all of ''Hapalemur'', and that ''Lemur'' is sister to ''Hapalemur'' + ''simus'', and that it should remain in ''Hapalemur''.

Description

The greater bamboo lemur is the largest bamboo lemur, at over . It has greyish brown fur and white ear tufts, and has a head-body length of around . They have relatively long tails and long back legs for leaping vertically amongst the trees of their forest habitat.

Predators

Its only confirmed predators are the fossa and the bush pigs, but

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...

s are also suspected. Protection from predators, avoiding parasite vectors, and enhanced thermoregulation are three theories that are not mutually exclusive to explain the selection of sleeping location. The fossa hunts the Great bamboo lemurs in large numbers. As a result, the lemurs must maintain a secure sleeping environment, such as tree holes and constructed nests.

Habitat

Its current range is restricted to southeastern

, although fossils indicate its former range extended across bigger areas of the island, including as far north as

Ankarana Ankarana Special Reserve in northern Madagascar was created in 1956. It is a small, partially vegetated plateau composed of 150-million-year-old middle Jurassic limestone. With an average annual rainfall of about , the underlying rocks have been e ...

. Some notable parts of the current range are the Ranomafana and

Andringitra National Park Andringitra National Park is a national park in the Haute Matsiatra region of Madagascar, south of Ambalavao. The park was established in 1999 and is managed by the Madagascar National Parks Association. It was inscribed in the World Heritage Sit ...

Behavior

Greater bamboo lemurs live in groups of up to 28. Individuals are extremely gregarious. The species may be the only lemur in which the male is dominant, although this is not certain. Because of their social nature, greater bamboo lemurs have at least seven different calls. Males have been observed taking bamboo pith away from females that had put significant effort into opening the bamboo stems. In captivity, greater bamboo lemurs have lived over the age of 17. Greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) male 2.jpg Greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) male eating 1.jpg Greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) male eating 2.jpg Prolemur simus Cedric Girard-Buttoz.jpg

Diet

It feeds almost exclusively on the bamboo species of ''

Cathariostachys madagascariensis ''Cathariostachys madagascariensis'', the Madagascar giant bamboo or in Malagasy language, is a bamboo species found in Madagascar. Description The culms are tall and erect, usually between but occasionally reaching up to ; with arching or d ...

'', preferring the shoots but also eating the pith and leaves. It is unknown how their metabolism deals with the

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

found in the shoots. The typical daily dose would be enough to kill humans. Greater bamboo lemurs occasionally consume fungi, flowers, and fruit. Its main food source is bamboo and it is the main reason why it has become critically endangered. Areas with high density of bamboo have major human disturbances, where humans cut or illegally cut down bamboo.

Conservation status

The greater bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur simus''), is one of the world's most critically endangered primates, according to the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

. Scientists believed that it was extinct, but a remnant population was discovered in 1986. Since then, surveys of south- and central-eastern Madagascar have found about 500 individuals in 11 subpopulations. The home range of the species is likewise drastically reduced. The current range is less than 4 percent of its historic distribution. The reason for the endangerment is climate change and human activities which depleted the primary food source (bamboo). Greater bamboo lemur is a part of prosimian species, which appeared even before monkeys. This species of lemur is not capable of adapting to the rapidly changing habitat. Human activities and climate change have resulted in the depletion of populations and resulted in a few remaining patches of forest capable of supporting this species. The species is endangered by the following:

slash and burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed vegeta ...

farming, mining, bamboo, and other logging, and slingshot hunting. It was formerly 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 ...

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20081009034212/http://info.bio.sunysb.edu/rano.biodiv/Mammals/Hapalemur-simus/index.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20051126205302/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Hapalemur_sinus/more_info.html * http://www.animalinfo.org/species/primate/hapasimu.htm {{Taxonbar, from=Q969373 Lemurs Endemic fauna of Madagascar Mammals of Madagascar Critically endangered fauna of Africa Mammals described in 1871 Taxa named by John Edward Gray EDGE species Fauna of the Madagascar lowland forests Fauna of the Madagascar subhumid forests