Lemurs of Madagascar

In this guide, we discuss the origins, discovery, study, and conservation of Madagascar's lemur fauna, and profile the country's 71 species and subspecies. What is particularly exciting is that we continue to discover new species of lemurs previously unknown to science. A decade ago we knew of only 50 different kinds of lemurs; now there are 21 more, and we expect at least a dozen more will be described in the next couple of years. As a result, you should see this edition as a temporary reference that will likely have to be replaced in the near future as our knowledge of lemurs continues to grow.

This guide is illustrated with close to 230 drawings, photos, and maps to assist in field identification. We also introduce the concept of primate watching and primate life-listing to encourage all of you interested in primates to see as many of these wonderful animals as possible in the wild and to help conserve them in their natural habitats. You, the reader, whether scientist, primate-watcher, budding naturalist, adventure traveler, or casual visitor to Madagascar, are making a very significant contribution to the future of biodiversity in this amazing corner of our planet. We hope that this guide will enhance your experience and convince you to visit this "Land of Lemurs" again and again.

William R. Konstant
Bill Konstant is a graduate of Cornell University and currently serves as Director of Conservation and Science for the Houston Zoo. He has more than two decades of experience developing species conservation projects in the Neotropics, Africa, Madagascar, and Southeast Asia. He has held positions with the World Wildlife Fund-US Wildlife Preservation Trust International, the Philadelphia Zoo, and Conservation International, and currently serves on the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group.

Frank Hawkins
Frank Hawkins is the Technical Director for Conservation International in Madagascar, and has lived there for more than 15 years. Since completing his Ph.D. on the birds of western Madagascar, Frank has conducted research all over the island on birds, primates, and carnivores, and has published many scientific papers, articles, and books.

Edward E. Louis
Ed Louis is the conservation geneticist for Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo's Center for Conservation and Research. In an effort to develop baseline molecular, distribution, and census data on lemurs and other Madagascar fauna and flora, Louis has carried out and supervised extensive fieldwork on the island since 1998. He received his DVM and Ph.D. in Genetics from Texas A&M University in 1994 and 1996, respectively.

Olivier Langrand
Olivier Langrand is Senior Vice President for Africa and Madagascar at Conservation International. He holds a master of science in zoology from the University of Natal and has 20 years of experience in the design and implementation of field research and tropical forest conservation programs. He is also an expert on the birds of the southwestern Indian Ocean islands and the author of more than 80 scientific papers and four books on the biodiversity of the Africa and Madagascar region. Olivier was awarded the Order of National Merit in 1997 by the President of Madagascar for his outstanding contributions to biodiversity conservation.

Jonah H. Ratsimbazafy
Jonah Ratsimbazafy received his Ph.D. in Physical Anthropology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2002, based on a study of black-and-white ruffed lemurs in Madagascar's Manombo forests. Jonah is presently the Scientific Coordinator for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Madagascar Program and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Paleontology and Anthropology at the University of Antananarivo.

Rodin Rasoloarison
Rodin Rasoloarison obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Antananarivo in 2000 for his taxonomic revision of Madagascar's mouse lemurs, genus Microcebus. He has since continued to study the taxonomy and biogeography of cheirogaleids in the field as well as in museum collections around the world. For the past 10 years he has worked as a research coordinator for the German Primate Center (DPZ).

Jörg U. Ganzhorn
Jörg U. Ganzhorn is a Professor at the University of Hamburg's Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation. He has served as Chairman for the Madagascar section of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group since 1998. A zoologist by training, he has over 20 years experience conducting fieldwork in Madagascar. He has published widely on the vertebrate fauna of Madagascar and lemur ecology.

Serge Rajaobelina
Serge Rajaobelina is the President of Fanamby, a Malagasy non-governmental environmental organization that he founded in 1997. In the mid-1980s he served as Assistant Program Officer for the World Wildlife Fund-US Madagascar Program. He then moved to Conservation International, first as Program Officer (1989-1994) and then as Director (1995-1996) of its Madagascar program. Serge has returned to Madagascar Where, in addition to running Fanamby, he works in ecotourism development and biodiversity conservation.

Ian Tattersall
Ian Tattersall is a Curator in the Division of Anthropology of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. A primatologist and paleontologist who has specialized in the study of lemurs since 1968, he has a central interest in systematics and has studied numerous aspects of lemur biology. He has carried out extensive fieldwork in Madagascar and the Comores, and is co-editor of Lemur Biology (1975) and author of The Primates of Madagascar (1982), as well as of numerous scientific papers.

David M. Meyers
David Meyers received his Ph.D. in Physical Anthropology from Duke University in 1993 based upon a comparative ecological study of the newly-discovered golden-crowned sifaka. Meyers has done extensive research in Madagascar's eastern and northern forests, has worked for various conservation and development organizations including WWF, CI, WCS, UNDP, and the World Bank as well as for various private sector companies. He received his MBA from the Yale School of Management in 1999 and is currently developing an environmental business in Madagascar transforming rapidly-growing bamboo into high quality wood products.

Stephen D. Nash
A native of Great Britain and a graduate of the Natural History Illustration Department of the Royal College of Art in London, Stephen Nash has been Scientific Illustrator for Conservation International since 1989, producing images for conservation education and biological publications. Prior to this, Nash was part of the World Wildlife Fund-US Primate Program. Based at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he is a Visiting Research Associate in the Department of Anatomical Sciences and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Art.

• About the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• How to Use this Field Guide
• Chapter 1: Origin of the Lemurs
• Chapter 2: Discovery and Study of the Living Lemurs
• Chapter 3: The Extinct Lemurs
• Chapter 4: Conservation of Lemurs
• Chapter 5: The Living Lemurs
• Family Cheirogaleidae
• Microcebus: Mouse Lemurs
• Microcebus berthae, Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus griseorufus, Reddish-gray Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus murinus, Gray Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus myoxinus, Pygmy Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus ravelobensis, Golden-brown Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus sambiranensis, Sambirano Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus tavaratra, Northern Rufous Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus rufus, Brown Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus lehilahytsara, Goodman's Mouse Lemur
• Microcebus sp. n. #1 [M. jollyae]
• Microcebus sp. n. #2 [M. mittermeieri]
• Microcebus sp. n. #3 [M. simmonsi]
• Allocebus: Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur
• Allocebus trichotis, Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur
• Mirza: Giant Mouse Lemurs or Dwarf Lemurs
• Mirza coquereli, Coquerel's Giant Mouse Lemur
• Mirza zaza, Northern Giant Mouse Lemur
• Cheirogaleus: Dwarf Lemurs
• Cheirogaleus major, Greater Dwarf Lemur
• Cheirogaleus crossleyi, Furry-eared Dwarf Lemur
• Cheirogaleus medius, Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur
• Cheirogaleus adipicaudatus, Southern Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur
• Cheirogaleus minisculus, Lesser Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur
• Cheirogaleus ravus, Greater Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur
• Cheirogaleus sibreei, Sibree's Dwarf Lemur
• Phaner: Fork-marked Lemurs
• Phaner furcifer, Eastern Fork-marked Lemur
• Phaner electromontis, Amber Mountain Fork-marked Lemur
• Phaner pallescens, Pale Fork-marked Lemur
• Phaner parienti, Pariente's Fork-marked Lemur
• Family Lepilemuridae
• Lepilemur: Sportive Lemurs
• Lepilemur mustelinus, Weasel Sportive Lemur
• Lepilemur microdon, Small-toothed Sportive Lemur
• Lepilemur leucopus, White-footed Sportive Lemur
• Lepilemur ruficaudatus, Red-tailed Sportive Lemur
• Lepilemur edwardsi, Milne-Edwards' Sportive Lemur
• Lepilmur dorsalis, Gray-backed Sportive Lemur
• Lepilmur ankaranensis, Ankarana Sportive Lemur
• Lepilemur septentrionalis, Northern Sportive Lemur
• Family Lemuridae
• Hapalemur: Bamboo or Gentle Lemurs
• Hapalemur griseus, Eastern Lesser Bamboo Lemur
• Hapalemur occidentalis, Western Lesser Bamboo Lemur
• Hapalemur alaotrensis, Lac Alaotra Gentle Lemur
• Hapalemur meridionalis, Southern Lesser Bamboo Lemur
• Hapalemur aureus, Golden Bamboo Lemur
• Prolemur: Greater Bamboo Lemur
• Prolemur simus, Greater Bamboo Lemur
• Lemur: Ring-tailed Lemur
• Lemur catta, Ring-tailed Lemur
• Eulemur: True Lemurs
• Eulemur fulvus, Common Brown Lemur
• Eulemur rufus, Red-fronted Brown Lemur
• Eulemur collaris, Collared Brown Lemur
• Eulemur albocollaris, White-collared Brown Lemur
• Eulemur albifrons, White-fronted Brown Lemur
• Eulemur sanfordi, Sanford's Brown Lemur
• Eulemur macaco macaco, Black Lemur
• Eulemur macaco flavifrons, Blue-eyed Black Lemur
• Eulemur rubriventer, Red-bellied Lemur
• Eulemur coronatus, Crowned Lemur
• Eulemur mongoz, Mongoose Lemur
• Varecia: Ruffed Lemurs
• Varecia variegata variegata, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
• Varecia variegata editorum, Southern Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
• Varecia variegata subcincta, White-belted Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
• Varecia rubra, Red Ruffed Lemur
• Family Indridae
• Avahi: Woolly Lemurs
• Avahi laniger, Eastern Woolly Lemur
• Avahi occidentalis, Western Woolly Lemur
• Avahi unicolor, Sambirano Woolly Lemur
• Avahi cleesei, Bemaraha Woolly Lemur
• Propithecus: Sifakas, Simponas
• Propithecus verreauxi, Verreaux's Sifaka
• Propithecus deckenii, Decken's Sifaka
• Propithecus coronatus, Crowned Sifaka
• Propithecus coquereli, Coquerel's Sifaka
• Propithecus tattersalli, Golden-Crowned Sifaka
• Propithecus diadema, Diademed Sifaka
• Propithecus edwardsi, Milne-Edwards' Sifaka
• Propithecus candidus, Silky Sifaka
• Propithecus perrieri, Perrier's Sifaka
• lndri: Indri, Babakoto
• lndri indri, Indri
• Family Daubentoniidae
• Daubentonia: Aye-Aye
• Daubentonia madagascariensis, Aye-Aye
• Appendix A: Maps of Madagascar
• Principal Towns and Cities
• Topography
• Rivers
• Terrestrial Protected Areas, Remaining Forest Cover & Principal Towns & Cities
• Protected Areas & Remaining Forest Cover
• Biogeographic Regions & Floristic Domains
• Key Sites for Lemur Watching
• Appendix B: Biogeographic Regions and Floristic Domains of Madagascar
• Appendix C: Key Sites for Lemur Watching
• References
• Lemur Life-List
• Request for Information

Refer to the glossary for definitions of terms used to describe the condition of items.

• Fauna > Madagascar > Mammals > Lemurs