Ring-Tailed Lemur
Lemur catta
Illustration by Stephen D. Nash
Ring-Tailed Lemur Facts
Source: Lemurs of Madagascar, pp. 167-169(with permission from Conservation International)
Illustration by Stephen D. Nash
Illustration by Stephen D. Nash, Conservation International
Identification
This is the only surviving semi-terrestrial diurnal lemur in Madagascar. Its head and body length of about 100+ cm. Adult body weight varies from 3 to 3.5 kg. The back is gray to rosy brown, limbs and haunches are gray, and the crown and neck are dark gray. The underside is white. The face is white except for dark triangular eye patches and a black nose. Ears are angular with white hair on top. The tail, which gives this lemur its common name, is ringed with alternating black and white bands. Both sexes posses dark "antebrachial" glands near the wrists; in males they are overlaid with a horny spur.This species is the best known of all Malagasy lemurs and is immediately identified by its strikingly banded tail. It cannot be confused with other lemurs within its range or with any other Malagasy lemur.
Geographic Range Illustration by Stephen D. Nash
The ring-tailed lemur is limited to south and southwestern Madagascar, from Fort-Dauphin (=Tolagnaro) west and extending as far north as Morandava on the west coast. One additional population occurs near the mountains of Andringita on the southeastern plateau.
Natural History
Photo by Anthony C. Brewer
The ring-tailed lemur is the most intensively studied of all lemur taxa. It inhabits many forest types throughout its range, including dry scrub and Didiereaceae forest, as well as deciduous and gallery forests. Densities are higher in undisturbed gallery forests than in drier habitats.
The diet consists of fruit, leaves, flowers, herbs, other plant parts including bark, and sap from close to three dozen different plant species; the kily tree (Tamarindus indica) is especially favored (Jolly, 1966; Sussman, 1974, 1977; O'Connor, 1987). The proportion of fruit versus leaves varies according to forest type. Ring-tailed lemurs feed in all forest strata and spend more time on the ground than any other lemur (Sussman, 1974, 1977).
Photo by Anthony C. Brewer
Group size ranges from 3 to over 20 individuals and averages about 18, with multiple adult males and females. Females remain in their natal groups and are dominant over males (Jolly, 1966; Sussman, 1977); males transfer between groups. Home range sizes vary from 6 ha to as large as 23 ha (Budnitz and Dainis, 1975; Sussman, 1977). Day ranges may vary considerably, but were recorded by Sussman (1977) to be 900-1000 m.
Females first give birth at three years of age (Sussman, 1989), and most of them subsequently produce offspring annually. Mating begins in mid-April (Jolly, 1966; Budnitz and Dainis, 1975) and most young are born in August and September, after a gestation period of 134-138 days (Van Horn and Eaton, 1979). Within two weeks after birth, after initially clinging to its mother's underside, the infant can be seen riding on her back. Infant mortality is high; at the Beza Mahafaly Reserve about half of all infants die in their first year and only 40% reach maturity (Sussman, 1991). Lemur catta alarm calls distinguish between terrestrial and avian predators, indicating that predation may be a factor in infant mortality.
Conservation Status
Although generally considered a common species because it is so often seen in captivity and is readily observed in the wild, indications are that L. catta may be more threatened than originally believed (Sussman and Richard, 1986). It has a strong preference for gallery forests along rivers and for Euphorbia bush, but these habitats are disappearing rapidly within the region because of fires, overgrazing by livestock, and cutting of trees for charcoal production. Satellite imagery analysis by Green and Sussman (1990), for instance, indicates that gallery forests are disappearing in southern Madagascar. If it in fact requires gallery forest for its survival, rather than just preferring this habitat, it cound be in serious trouble; however, this remains to be determined. Furthermore, L. catta occurs in all protected areas within its range, including Isalo National Park, the Andohahela, Andringitra and Tsimanampetsotsa Nature Reserves, the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve and the Berenty Private Reserve (Nicoll and Langrand, 1989), but levels of protection vary considerably in these areas. Population figures are not available, but a reasonable order of magnitude estimate would be 10,000 - 100,000 (Mittermeier et al., 1992).The ring-tailed lemur breeds very well in captivity; close to 1,000 are registered with ISIS by approximately 140 zoos worldwide, and this is undoubtedly an underestimate (ISIS, 1993).
This species was given a High Priority rating (5) in the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group's Lemurs of Madagascar: An Action Plan for their Conservation (Mittermeier, et al. 1992) largely because of its taxonomic distinctiveness as a monotypic genus. Using the latest IUCN Red List criteria, we have to place this species in the Vulnerable category. However, further survey work, especially on the relationship of this species to gallery forest, may result in a change in the threat category.
Source of Information:
Mittermeier, R. A., Tattersall, I, Konstant, W. R., Meyers, D. M., Mast, R. B. 1994. Lemurs of Madagascar. Conservation International, Washington, D.C.
References:
Budnitz, N. and K. Dainis 1975. Lemur catta: ecology and behavior. Pp. 219-235 in: Tattersall, I. and R. W. Sussman (eds.), Lemur Biology. Plenum Press, New York.
Green, G. M. G. and R. W. Sussman 1990. Deforestation history of the eastern rain forests of Madagascar from satellite images. Science 248: 212-215.
ISIS, 1993. ISIS Species Distribution Report Abstract for Mammals, 31 December 1993. International Species Inventory System, 12101 Johnny Cake Ridge Road, Apple Valley, Minnesota, USA.
Jolly, A. 1966. Lemur Behavior. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Mittermeier, R. A., W. R. Konstant, M. E. Nicoll and O. Langrand 1992. Lemurs of Madagascar: An Action Plan for their Conservation. 1993-1999. IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland.
Nicoll, M. E. and O. Langrand 1989. Madagascar: Revue de la Conservation et des Aires Protegees. World Wide Fund for Nature, Gland, Switzerland, xvii + 374pp.
O'Connor, S. 1987. The effect of human impact on vegetation and the consequences to primates in two riverine forests, southern Madagascar. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, U.K.
Sussman, R. W. 1974. Ecological distinctions in sympatric species of lemur. Pp. 75-108 in: R. D. Martin, G. A. Doyle and A. C. Walker (eds.), Prosimian Biology. Duckworth, London.
Sussman, R. W. 1977. Distribution of Malagasy lemurs. Part 2: Lemur catta and Lemur fulvus in southern and western Madagascar. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 293: 170-183.
Sussman, R. W. 1991. Demography and social organization of free-ranging Lemur catta in Beza Mahafaly Reserve. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 84: 43-58.
Sussman, R. W. and A. Richard 1986. Lemur conservation in Madagascar: the status of lemurs in the south. Primate Conservation 7: 85-92.
Van Horn, R. N. and G. G. Eaton 1979. Reproductive physiology and behavior in prosimians. Pp. 79-122 in: Doyle, G. A. and R. D. Martin (eds.), The Study of Prosimian Behavior. Academic Press, New York. Related Web sites:
Conservation International Duke University Primate Center Prosimian Picture Gallery Godric's Lemur Gallery Living Lemurs Madagascar Fauna Group
Previous Issues of Primate of the Week
Primate Gallery
