Red-tailed weasel lemur
| Red-tailed weasel lemur | ||||||||||||
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Red-tailed weasel lemur ( Lepilemur ruficaudatus ) |
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| Lepilemur ruficaudatus | ||||||||||||
| A. Grandidier , 1867 |
The Red-Wieselmaki ( Lepilemur ruficaudatus ) is an on Madagascar living primate species from the group of lemurs within the lemurs .
features
The physique of the red-tailed weasel lemur is similar to that of the other weasel lemurs. They are rather small primates with long, strong hind legs. They reach a head body length of 21 to 28 centimeters, the tail becomes 23 to 25 centimeters long. The weight is around 0.8 to 0.9 kilograms. Their fur is gray on the back, the shoulders and upper arms are reddish brown. The throat is whitish and the belly is light gray. The name-giving feature is the red tail. The gray head is rounded, the ears are large and rounded, and the eyes are also large as an adaptation to the nocturnal lifestyle.
distribution and habitat
Red-tailed weasel lemurs live in southwestern Madagascar between the Tsiribihina and Mangoky rivers. Their habitat are dry deciduous forests.
Way of life
Like all weasel lemurs, they are nocturnal and mostly stay in the trees. There they climb and jump vertically, and during the day they sleep in tree hollows. A male and a female live together in an area of around 1 hectare in size. They often sleep together in tree hollows, the sleeping times are also synchronized, but they go looking for food separately. Their diet consists mainly of leaves, but they also eat fruits and other parts of plants.
The mating takes place between May and July, after a gestation period of around 130 days, the female usually gives birth to a single young. This is suckled for at least four months and is self-sufficient at around a year.
Danger
The exact degree of endangerment of the red-tailed weasel lemur is not known, as with other Malagasy primates, the destruction of their habitat is likely to be the main threat. The IUCN lists the species under “insufficient data” available ( data deficient ).
The species is no longer kept in Europe, the former owner is Paris.
literature
- Nick Garbutt: Mammals of Madagascar. A Complete Guide. Yale University Press, New Haven CT 2007, ISBN 978-0-300-12550-4 .
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
supporting documents
Web links
- Lepilemur ruficaudatus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009 Posted by: M. Hoffmann, 2008. Accessed on 5 November of 2009.