Nature Atlas

How Nature Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Specy

Aye-aye

Mammals

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 Extinct
Yes 1
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).
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
Similar to felines in head shape, eyes, ears and nostrils, despite being a lemur with rodent-like ever-growing incisors. 1
Scientific Name
Daubentonia madagascariensis 1
Conservation Status
Endangered 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Primates, Taxa
Source Catalogue of Life

In Ecosystem

Source World Wildlife Fund
Sources
1. Aye-aye (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead 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
World Wildlife FundIn Ecosystem: Madagascar RainforestsView the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.