The red-fronted lemur (''Eulemur rufifrons''), also known as the red-fronted brown lemur or southern red-fronted brown lemur, is a 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 ...

from

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 ...

. Until 2001, it was considered 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 ...

, ''E. fulvus''. In 2001, ''E. fulvus'' was split into several separate species, including ''Eulemur rufus'', in which this species was included. In 2008, ''E. rufus'' was split into two species, the

red lemur The red lemur (''Eulemur rufus''), also known as the rufous brown lemur or northern red-fronted lemur, is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, the species ''E. rufus'' was considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur, ''E. fulvu ...

(''E. rufus'') and the red-fronted lemur (''E. rufifrons''). ''E. rufus'' covers the population on the west coast north of the

Tsiribihina River The Tsiribihina is a river of western Madagascar. The main tributaries are the Mahajilo, Manandaza, Mania, and Sakeny rivers. Its basin has an area of 49,800 km2. 7,025 km2 is in the basin of the Sakeny River, 14,500 km2 in that of the Mahaj ...

and ''E. rufifrons'' covers the population on the west coast south of the Tsiribihina River and the population in eastern Madagascar. The species split was based on genetic and morphological evidence.

Mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

analysis indicates that ''E. rufifrons'' may be more closely related to the common brown lemur (''E. fulvus''),

white-headed lemur The white-headed lemur (''Eulemur albifrons''), also known as the white-headed brown lemur, white-fronted brown lemur, or white-fronted lemur, is a species of primate in the family Lemuridae. It is only found in north-eastern Madagascar. It is ...

(''E. albifrons'') and

Sanford's brown lemur Sanford's brown lemur (''Eulemur sanfordi''), or Sanford's lemur, is a species of strepsirrhine primate in the family Lemuridae. Sanford's brown lemur was previously considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur (''Eulemur fulvus'') but was ...

(''E. sanfordi'') than it is to ''E. rufus''. The red-fronted lemur lives on the western coast of Madagascar between the

to the north and south of the Fiheranana River and in eastern Madagascar from the

Mangoro River The Mangoro River is the largest river on the east coast of Madagascar by basin size and water volume, and is 300 km in length. Overview The Mangoro begins northeast of the town of Anjozorobe in the Analamanga region, at approximately 1,1 ...

and

Onive River The Onive River is a river in eastern Madagascar. It flows down from the Ankaratra massif, and is the largest tributary of the Mangoro River.Campbell, GwynnDavid Griffiths and the Missionary "History of Madagascar" p. 488-89 (Brill 2012) (citing ...

to the

Andringitra Massif The Andringitra Massif ("desert of rocks") is a granite massif located within Andringitra National Park in Madagascar. The range is approximately long. In its central area, the range is almost wide, though it is much narrower on either end. Pi ...

. It lives in dry lowland forests. It has a head and body length of and with a tail. Its weight ranges between . It has a gray coat and black face, muzzle and forehead, plus a black line from the muzzle to the forehead, with white eyebrow patches. Males have white or cream colored cheeks and beards, while females have rufous or cream cheeks and beards that are less bushy than males. There is considerable geographic variation in the natural history of this species. Western populations tend to have smaller

home range A home range is the area in which an animal lives and moves on a periodic basis. It is related to the concept of an animal's territory which is the area that is actively defended. The concept of a home range was introduced by W. H. Burt in 1943. He ...

s and higher population densities than eastern populations, although group size tends to be fairly consistent (generally 4–18 animals, averaging 8–9). None of the studied populations show dominance hierarchies and aggression tends to be low. Diet is diverse, encompassing

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

and

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s, but more so in eastern populations. Western populations tend to rely more on leaves for their diet. Western populations are primarily diurnal, but increase

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

activity during the dry season, while eastern populations show less such

dichotomy A dichotomy is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simulta ...

. Reproduction is seasonal. In western populations one male usually monopolizes all the females in the group, while in eastern populations such monopolization is less typical.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q249153 True lemurs Mammals described in 1833 Taxa named by Edward Turner Bennett