Western fork striped lemur
| Western fork striped lemur | ||||||||||||
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Western lemur lemur ( Phaner pallescens ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Phaner pallescens | ||||||||||||
| Groves & Tattersall , 1991 |
The western lemur lemur ( Phaner pallescens ) is a primate species from the lemur group .
features
Western lemurs are among the smallest and most brightly colored representatives of the lemurs . They reach a head body length of 25 to 28 centimeters, to which a 31 to 33 centimeter long tail comes. The weight is around 300 to 350 grams. Their fur is colored on the upper side in a light gray-brown - sometimes with a tinge of silver -, the underside is whitish-yellow. The rear two thirds of the long tail are darker than the rest of the body. The facial markings that are typical of the fork-striped lemurs - two dark stripes that extend from the top of the head over the eyes to the snout - are only weakly pronounced in this species, as is the eel line on the back.
distribution and habitat
Western lemurs, like all lemurs, only occur in Madagascar . They have the largest distribution area of all fork-striped lemurs and inhabit large parts of the western coast of their home island. Their habitat are different forest types, but dry forests are preferred .
Way of life
These primates are nocturnal tree dwellers. During the day they sleep in tree hollows, mostly in the crown region of the trees. At dusk they begin their phase of activity, which extends until dawn. Most of the time, they move through the branches on all fours. They live in monogamous family groups in which the couples stay together for at least several years. During the day they sleep together, and at night the partners meet again and again, for example to groom each other, but they search for food alone.
They are very vocal animals. The partners keep in touch with each other with various calls and also point out their own area to other groups . The territories hardly overlap with those of other groups, but encounters often occur at the territorial boundaries. Females and young animals from different groups interact with each other and groom each other's fur - males, on the other hand, react aggressively to males and females from outside the group.
food
Like all lemons, they feed mainly on tree sap. They show some adaptations to this diet, for example the hands and feet are enlarged and the fingernails keeled, which allows a better grip on the tree trunks. The front teeth stand forward, which makes it easier to gnaw the tree bark, and the tongue is relatively long. In addition to tree sap, they also eat flowers, nectar and insects. Thanks to their nectar nutrition, they play an important role in the pollination of baobabs .
Reproduction
The mating takes place in November, in February or March a single young is usually born. This spends the first few weeks of its life in the parental tree hole and separates from its birth group when it is around three years old.
Danger
Regionally, the destruction of its habitat poses a threat to the Western Fork-Striped Lemur, but overall the species is widespread and, according to the IUCN, not threatened.
literature
- Nick Garbutt: Mammals of Madagascar. A Complete Guide. Yale University Press, New Haven CT 2007, ISBN 978-0-300-12550-4 .
- Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2002, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
Web links
- Phaner pallescens onthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved April 20, 2009.