Species group · Mammals

Lemurs

WAnimals has 6 species of lemur, spread across 2 families (Cheirogaleidae, Lemuridae).

6 species

2 families

3 countries

13 parks

All 6 species of lemurs on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

2 Critically Endangered1 Vulnerable1 Near Threatened1 Least Concern1 Endangered

4 species in this group are in a threatened category according to the IUCN.

Recorded in 3 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

It goes into torpor for days at a time in the cold season: it lowers its body temperature and metabolism almost to a standstill, an exceptional ability in a primate and one studied as a model for understanding hibernation in warm-blooded mammals.
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It is one of the smallest primates on the planet: it fits in the palm of a hand and weighs the same as a small egg.
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Unlike its relatives, males and females barely differ in colour.
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Each female is fertile for barely 24 hours a year.
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It has been successfully introduced to the island of Mayotte.
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One of the smallest primates; it stores fat in its tail to see out the dry season.
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It fattens its tail before the dry season until it doubles its body weight, and then spends months in torpor living off that reserve, a behaviour typical of rodents that is exceptional in a primate.
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It is a leading model in research on brain ageing: it spontaneously develops deposits and changes comparable to those of Alzheimer's, in a primate whose life cycle is ten times shorter than ours.