Crowned Lemur

Photo: Duke University Primate Center

Crowned Lemur Facts
Source: Lemurs of Madagascar, pp. 199-201
(with permission from Conservation International)

Identification The crowned lemur is smaller than most other species of the genus Eulemur, with a head and body length of about 34 cm, a tail length of about 45 cm (for a total length of 75-85 cm), and a body weight of around 2 kg. The species is notably sexually dichromatic. Females have short gray body hair and are lighter on the ventrum. The face is gray and the cheeks and throat are pale. Male body coat is dark gray-brown dorsally, the tail is dark, the face gray and the nose black. The limbs are paler than the back. Both sexes have an orange v-shaped pattern pointing forward on the head, while often the orange crown color circles around the face to connect with the red beard. It can easily be distinguished from E. f. sanfordi, the only other sympatric member of the genus Eulemur, by the presence of the V-shpaged crown and by the absence of white ear tufts and beard that are so characteristic of male E. f. sanfordi. Geographic Range The crowned lemur is found from the extreme north, on the Cap d'Ambre peninsula, southwest to Amilobe and probably some distance down the Mahavavy River. To the east, its limit is some point just north of Sambava, possibly the Bemarivo River (Tattersall, 1982). Throughout this range, the crowned lemur exists in practically all forests. It is found at high densities in many dry forests, and tend to occur at lower densities in the moister forests of the region. Natural History This species has been studied in the dry forests of Ankarana (Wilson et al., 1989; Hawkins et al., 1990) and Sakalava (Arbelot-Tracqui, 1983) and in the humid forests on Mt. d'Ambre (Arbelot-Tracqui, 1983; B. Freed, pers. comm.). Densities range from about 50 animals/square km in humid forest to more than 100 square km in dry forest, which is the preferred habitat. It is reported to travel in all levels of the forest, seeming to prefer the canopy level, and is likely to be found in lianas, thick cover and terminal branches. It also readily descends to the ground to eat fallen fruit, lick earth (Arbelot-Tracqui, 1983; Wilson et al., 1989) or travel (Petter et al., 1977). Group size doesn't appear to differ significantly between the two habitat types, the average size being five or six and the maximum about 15 individuals (B. Freed, pers. comm.). Large groups often split into foraging subgroups of one to four. Such subgroups often use vocalizations to maintain contact with or to locate subgroups when separation distances are large. Interactions between groups are rare, but aggressive interactions are reported between crowned lemur and Sanford's lemur groups. Although primarily diurnal, E. coronatus also is active at night, at which time it has been observed to travel and feed. Its diet consists largely of fruit, both in dry and moist forests, but also includes young leaves, flowers, pollen and occasionally insects (B. Freed, pers. comm.). The crowned lemur generally feeds lower in the forest than Sanford's lemur, which may help avoid aggressive interactions. In Ankarana and Montagne d'Ambre, mating occurs in late May and June, and births take place from mid-September through October. In captivity, a gestation length of 125 days has been established, and twin singleton births appear to be equally common (Kappeler, 1987). Conservation Status The crowned lemur occurs in Montane d'Ambre National Park, and the Analamera, Ankarana and Foret d'Ambre Special Reserves. However, the level of protection varies from one area to the next (Nicoll and Langrand, 1989; Harcourt and Thornback, 1990; Mittermeier et al., 1992). Poaching is widespread and increasing in Montagne d'Ambre National Park, which is also threatened by brush fires and illegal logging on its periphery (Nicoll and Langrand, 1989). The Analamera Special Reserve is unguarded and unmanaged (Hawkins et al., 1990). While hunting is not a problem at Ankarana, logging threatens a significant portion of lemur habitat (Wilson, et al., 1988). There are no population figures available, but a reasonable order of magnitude estimate would be 10,000-100,000 based on known densities and recent estimates of forest cover within this species' range. There are approximately 40 E. coronatus(, in captivity in eight institutions (Olney and Ellis, 1992). Based upon an earlier (lower) population estimate, the crowned lemur was given a Priority rating (4) in the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group's Lemurs of Madagascar: An Action Plan for their Conservation (Mittermeier et al., 1992). Using the latest IUCN Red list criteria, we place this species in the Vulnerable category.

Photos Credits: All photos are courtesy of the Duke University Primate Center. 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: Arbelot-Tracqui, V. 1983. Etude Ethoecologique de Deux Primates Prosimiens: Lemur coronatus Gray et Lemur fulvus sanfordi Archbold, Contribution a l'Etude des Mecanismes d'Isolement Reproductif Intervenant dans la Speciation. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Rennes, France. Harcourt, C. and J. Thornback. 1990. Lemurs of Madagascar and the Comoros. The IUCN Red Data Book, compiled by C. Harcourt. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K. Hawkins, A.F.A., P. Chapman, J.U. Ganzhorn, Q.M.C. Bloxam, S.C. Barlow and S.J. Tonge 1990. Vertebrate conservation in Ankarana Special Reserve, northern Madagascar. Biological Conservation 54: 83-110. 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. Kappeler, P. M. 1987. Reproduction in the crowned lemur (Lemur coronatus) in captivity. American Journal of Primatology 12: 497-503. 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. Olney, P.J.S. and P. Ellis (eds.) 1992. Census of Rare Animals in Captivity 1991. International Zoo Yearbook (Vol. 31). Zoological Society of London, U.K. Petter, J.-J., R. Albignac and Y. Rumpler 1977. Mammiferes: lemuriens (Primates prosimiens). Faune de Madagascar No. 44. ORSTOM-CNRS, Paris. Tattersall, I. 1982. The Primates of Madagascar. Columbia University Press, New York. Wilson, J.M., P.D. Stewart, G.-S. Ramangason, A.M. Denning, and M.S. Hutchings 1989. Ecology and conservation of the crowned lemur, Lemur coronatus, at Ankarana, N. Madagascar, with notes on Sanford's lemur, other sympatrics and subfossil lemurs. Folia Primatologica 52: 1-26. Related Web sites: Conservation International Duke University Primate Center Prosimian Picture Gallery Godric's Lemur Gallery Living Lemurs Madagascar Fauna Group

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