The aye-aye is a nocturnal primate native only to Madagascar, the largest nocturnal primate in the world and one of the most unusual-looking lemurs, with large ever-growing incisor teeth, huge sensitive ears and an extremely thin, elongated middle finger used to tap on tree bark and probe for grubs in a foraging technique called percussive foraging. It listens for the hollow sound of wood-boring insect larvae beneath the bark, then gnaws a hole and extracts the larvae with its specialized finger, a method of feeding unique among primates and more typical of woodpeckers. Aye-ayes have long been regarded with superstition and fear in parts of Madagascar, which has contributed to persecution alongside habitat loss, and the species is classified as endangered.
Facts
Classification
Living or ExtinctDerived 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). Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceSimilar to felines in head shape, eyes, ears and nostrils, despite being a lemur with rodent-like ever-growing incisors. 1 Scientific NameDaubentonia madagascariensis 1 Conservation Status Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Ecosystem
Source World Wildlife Fund
Sources
1. Aye-aye (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, opening sentence
The aye-aye (, Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger that they can use to catch grubs and larvae out of tree trunks.
Lead/Conservation section, IUCN classification sentence
It is currently classified as Endangered by the IUCN.
Description section, feline-comparison sentence
However, the aye-aye is also similar to felines in its head shape, eyes, ears and nostrils.
View the Source Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: PrimatesView the Source World Wildlife Fund
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