Red-tailed sportive lemur
| Red-tailed Sportive Lemur[1] | |
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| File:Lepilemur ruficaudatus.jpg | |
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| Species: | L. ruficaudatus
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| Lepilemur ruficaudatus Grandidier, 1867
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The Red-tailed Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur ruficaudatus) is, like all lemurs, native to Madagascar. It is a nocturnal species feeding largely on leaves, though they also eat some fruit. Individuals weigh around 800 grams, and there is little sexual dimorphism. In general they live in mated pairs, with a home range of about 10,000 square metres. Both members of the pair use the same home range, and there is little overlap between the home ranges of neighbouring pairs. Travel distances each night are between 100 metres and 1 km, making this a relatively inactive species. This species can be found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests.
Morphology
This particular species has binocular vision. The red-tailed sportive lemur has a large cecum. On the hands and feet are large digital pads used for clinging, very important to a very arboreal lemur. The dorsal side is light gray-brown in color with red-brown color anteriorly, and this species is light gray or white on its underparts ([3]).
Ecology
The red-tailed sportive lemur is primarily a folivorous species, but also will eat fruits ([4]). Fruits from the Diospyros spp. are eaten in summer ([5]). This species is also a cecotroph- it redigests its feces; it does this to help break down the cellulose in the leaves.
Social Behaviour
The red-tailed sportive lemur has a social system where the basic group is composed of the mother and her offspring, lemurs being a matriarchal species. The males live in solitude and have home ranges that overlap one or more females. This species has a polygynous mating system. He visits each female during the breeding season. Females will leave their infants on a branch when they forage for food and they transport their young in their mouth for the first few weeks. This is a highly territorial species, and so males will violently defend their territory.
Vocal communication
A loud call is emitted by the adult male and could be described as very crow-like. This is used as a territorial call, used to demarcate a male's territory, and to advertise to other males that a male already occupies that territory. [6]. This call sounds like "boako-boako" in this species, and this call is sometimes preceded by grunts [7].
A contact-rejection is used also- this call consists of a series of resonant hissing calls which is followed by a two-phase vocalization. This call occurs in captivity if an individual is approached and they will also strike out with the hands. In the wild this is heard when two con specifics are close in proximity to one another.
Reproduction
The red-tailed sportive lemur gives birth to a single offspring per year which is typically born between September and November.
Thanks to http://www.theprimata.com/lepilemur_ruficaudatus.html for much of the information on this page.
References
- ^ Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 119. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened
- ^ Jenkins, 1987; cited in Harcourt and Thornback, 1990
- ^ Harcourt and Thornback, 1990
- ^ Hladick et al., 1980; cited in Harcourt and Thornback, 1990
- ^ Fleagle, 1988
- ^ Petter and Charles-Dominique, 1979