Greater Bamboo Lemur

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Greater Bamboo Lemur[1]

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Lemuridae
Genus: Prolemur
Gray, 1871
Species: P. simus
Binomial name
Prolemur simus
(Gray, 1871)

The Greater Bamboo Lemur (Prolemur simus) is a large, greyish brown lemur with white ear tufts. It feeds almost exclusively on Giant Bamboo, preferring the shoots but also eating the pith and leaves. It is not known how their metabolism deals with the cyanide found in the shoots; their typical daily dose would be enough to kill humans. Its only confirmed predator is the Fossa, but raptors are also suspected. Its range is only southeastern Madagascar.

The species may be the only lemur in which the male is dominant, although this is not definitively established. Males have been observed taking the pith away from females that have put significant effort into opening the bamboo stems.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Groves, Colin (16 November 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 117. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
  2. ^ Ganzhorn, J. & Members of the Primate Specialist Group (2000). Hapalemur simus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  3. ^ Conniff, Richard (April 2006). "For the Love of Lemurs". Smithsonian 37 (1): 102–109. Smithsonian Institution. 

[edit] External links

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