Western fat-tailed lemur
| Western fat-tailed lemur | ||||||||||||
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Western fat- tailed lemur ( Cheirogaleus medius ) |
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| Cheirogaleus medius | ||||||||||||
| E. Geoffrey , 1812 |
The western fat- tailed lemur ( Cheirogaleus medius ), also called the middle cat lemur , is a primate species from the lemur group .
features
Western fat-tailed lemurs reach a head body length of 20 to 23 centimeters and a tail length of 20 to 27 centimeters. Your body weight is subject to strong seasonal fluctuations and can vary between 120 and 270 grams. Their fur is short and dense, the head, back and tail are gray in color, the underside is yellowish-white. A brown eel line stretches along the back , the throat and neck are whitish. The head is rounded, the muzzle is short, the ears are small and hairless. As with all fat-tailed lemurs , the eyes are surrounded by dark rings.
distribution and habitat
Western fat-tailed lemurs, like all lemurs, only occur on the island of Madagascar , where they inhabit the western and southwestern parts of the country. The exact extent of their distribution area is unclear, as the southern fat-tailed lemur was recently described in western Madagascar. Their habitat are predominantly dry forests, but in the extreme southeast of their range they can also be found in moist forests.
Lifestyle and diet
These primates are nocturnal tree dwellers that sleep in tree hollows during the day. At night they go in search of food, moving shyly and fairly quietly on all fours. They live in stable monogamous pairs that can only be resolved by the death of one of the partners, and together with the young they form small family groups. A group lives in an area of 1 to 2.5 hectares and also sleeps together during the day. As with all fat- tailed lemurs, this species is characterized by a state of hibernation during the dry months. In the period from November to March they put on weight, with the tail serving primarily as a fat store. In the dry season (April to October) they go into hibernation, often retreating into hollow tree trunks, under rotting tree trunks or other shelters. During this time they live on the reserves in their tail, their weight can be reduced by almost half. The body temperature is also not kept at a stable level during this time, but adapts to the outside temperature and can fluctuate from 10 to 40 ° C in some cases. If the outside temperature fluctuates strongly, so that the animals are regularly passively heated to over 35 ° C, the typical waking up for winter sleepers does not take place every 2 weeks, but the fat-tailed lemurs can sleep through the night. This is unique and has so far only been described for the western fat-tailed lemur.
The diet of Western fat-tailed lemurs consists primarily of fruits , but they also consume flowers, nectar, insects and small vertebrates . The diet is partly seasonal. In the first months of the rainy season, fruits and nectar predominate, in the later months insects and vertebrates are increasingly on their menu.
Reproduction
They mate at the beginning of the rainy season in October or November, sometimes only every two years. Despite the monogamous lifestyle, 44% of the offspring come from other males. Presumably, this "cheating" increases the genetic diversity of the immune complex (MHC = main histocompatibility complex ). A crowd of children from different fathers increases the chances of survival of the respective offspring and has advantages for the males and females cheating. Nevertheless, both males and females are needed to raise the young together. If a couple dies before the offspring are independent enough, the remainder will not be able to raise the young on their own. For this reason, a social monogamy and not a genetic monogamy.
The gestation period is 60 to 65 days, after which two to three young animals are born in December and January. These spend their first weeks of life in a tree hollow and are always guarded by a parent - there is also an observation that the parents have attacked an approaching snake. The young are weaned at around 45 days and sexually mature at two years of age. Life expectancy in human care can be almost 20 years.
Danger
Regionally, the destruction of their habitat poses a threat, but overall the western fat-tailed lemurs are widespread and, according to the IUCN, are not endangered species.
In Europe the species is cultivated in Frankfurt, Saarbrücken, Pilsen and Sandwich.
Systematics and naming
The western fat-tailed lemur belongs to the genus of the fat-tailed lemur , which used to be divided into two, but today into seven species. In contrast to the large fat-tailed lemur or cat lemur ( Cheirogaleis major ), the species was referred to as the medium-sized cat lemur or simply fat-tailed lemur, through the description of the new species it is now more precisely called Western fat-tailed lemur. The southern fat- tailed lemur ( Cheirogaleus adipicaudatus ) was synonymous with Cheirogaleis major during a revision of the fat- tailed lemur in 2014 .
literature
- Dausmann, KH, Glos, J., Ganzhorn, JU, and Heldmaier, G. (2005). Hibernation in the tropics: Lessons from a primate. J Comp Physiol B 175: 147-155.
- Fietz, J. (1999). Monogamy as a rule rather than exception in nocturnal lemurs: the case of the fat-tailed dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus medius. Ethology 105: 259-272.
- Schwensow, N., Fietz, J., Dausmann, KH, and Sommer, S. (2007). MHC-associated mating strategies and the importance of overall genetic diversity in an obligate pair-living primate. Evolutionary Ecology.
- Fietz, J. (2003). Primates: Cheirogaleus, dwarf lemurs or fat-tailed lemurs In Goodman, SM, and Benstead, JP (eds.), The natural history of Madagascar, The University of Chicago Press.
- Nick Garbutt: Mammals of Madagascar. A Complete Guide. Yale University Press, New Haven & London 2007, ISBN 978-0-300-12550-4
Individual evidence
- ^ Marina B. Blanco, Kathrin H. Dausmann, Jean F. Ranaivoarisoa & Anne D. Yoder: Underground hibernation in a primate. Scientific Reports 3, Article number: 1768, doi: 10.1038 / srep01768
- ↑ [1] ZTL 17.6.
- ↑ Runhua Lei, Cynthia L. Frasier, Adam T. McLain, Justin M. Taylor, Carolyn A. Bailey, Shannon E. Engberg, Azure L. Ginter, Richard Randriamampionona, Colin P. Groves , Russell A. Mittermeier and Edward E. Louis Jr .: Revision of Madagascar's Dwarf Lemurs (Cheirogaleidae: Cheirogaleus ): Designation of Species, Candidate Species Status and Geographic Boundaries Based on Molecular and Morphological Data. Primate Conservation 28: 9-35. 2014, doi: 10.1896 / 052.028.0110
Web links
- Cheirogaleus medius onthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved April 16, 2009.