Ring-tailed lemur

Ring tailed lemur
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix I (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Strepsirrhini
Family:	Lemuridae
Genus:	Lemur Linnaeus, 1758
Species:	L. catta
Binomial name
Lemur catta Linnaeus, 1758
Distribution of Lemur catta
Synonyms
Genus:[1] Prosimia Brisson, 1762[N 1] Procebus Storr, 1780 Catta Link, 1806[N 2] Maki Muirhead, 1819[N 3] Mococo Trouessart, 1878[N 4] Odorlemur Bolwig, 1960 Species:[1] Maki mococo Muirhead, 1819[N 5]

The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) is a primate from the group of lemurs (Lemuriformes). It lives in the dry regions of southwest Madagascar.

This lemur weighs between 2 to 3.5 kilograms (4.4 to 7.7 lb). It can live up to 20 years. ^[2] It is a mid-sized lemur. The striped tail makes it easy to recognize. Its behaviour is somewhat unusual for lemurs: it is active during the day, and spends much time on the ground. Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups of 12 to 15 animals. Each group is led by a female. Ring-tailed lemurs eat both meat and plants, but they mainly eat fruit. They live only in Madagascar. The main threats to ring-tailed lemurs are destroying the places where it lives and hunting.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Tattersall 1982, pp. 43–46. sfn error: no target: CITEREFTattersall1982 (help)
2. ↑ Hannover Zoo: Ring-tailed lemur Archived 2012-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, viewed 2012-12-06