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Ring-tailed Lemur

Mammals

The ring-tailed lemur is a primate native only to the island of Madagascar, one of the most recognizable lemur species due to its long tail, ringed with alternating black and white bands, which it holds upright while walking on the ground. Unlike many other lemur species, it spends a large portion of its time foraging on the ground as well as in trees, living in social troops led by females, a trait shared across most lemur species. Ring-tailed lemurs are omnivorous, feeding mainly on fruit, leaves and flowers, and they use scent marking extensively, including a behavior in which males rub tail glands and waft scent at rivals in dominance displays. Habitat loss and hunting have caused sharp population declines, and the species is classified as endangered.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Omnivore 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 2
Relationship to People
Hunted or Fished 2
Living or Extinct
Yes 3
Derived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status (w-bfill-g5-0924 browse backfill).
Disputed
Population Estimate
2000 1
The formal IUCN Red List category is Endangered, but the article reports a 2017 estimate of as few as 2,000 wild individuals, which the source itself says would place the species far more severely than that formal listing reflects; recorded here as the most specific figure found, not a settled census.
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
A medium to larger strepsirrhine primate recognized above all other lemurs by its long tail, ringed with alternating black and white bands. 1
Scientific Name
Lemur catta 1
Conservation Status
Endangered 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Lemuridae, Taxa
Source Catalogue of Life
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Africa, found in there.
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Ecuador, found in there.
Sources
1. Ring-tailed Lemur (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead paragraph, sentence 1
    The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is a medium- to larger-sized strepsirrhine (wet-nosed) primate and the most internationally recognized lemur species, owing to its long, black-and-white, ringed tail.
  • Lead paragraph, sentence 4 (Conservation clause)
    Despite adapting to and breeding easily under captive care (and being the most popular species of lemur in zoos worldwide, with more than 2,000 captive-raised individuals), the wild population of ring-tailed lemur is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List, due to habitat destruction, local hunting for bushmeat and the exotic pet trade.
  • Lead paragraph, sentence 5
    As of early 2017, the population in the wild is believed to have lowered to as few as 2,000 individuals due to these reasons, making them far more critically endangered.
  • system (entity description states it plainly, diet)
    Ring-tailed lemurs are omnivorous, feeding mainly on fruit, leaves and flowers, and they use scent marking extensively, including a behavior in which males rub tail glands and waft scent at rivals in dominance displays.
View the Source
2. Ring-tailed Lemur (Wikipedia)
  • local hunting for bushmeat
  • the exotic pet trade
  • the most adapted to living terrestrially of the extant lemurs
View the Source
3. GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
Wikidata: Ring-tailed Lemur
Wikidata Q185385, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: LemuridaeView the Source
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