The smallest primate is the pygmy mouse lemur. Smallest primate: Pygmy mouse lemur Lifestyle. Nutrition

Lemurs are mammals belonging to the lemur-like infraorder.

The latter has 101 species, all animals are combined into 5 families, each of which has common characteristics and its own characteristics.

In the photo of the lemur, you can see a medium-sized primate.

The smallest lemur is the pygmy mouse lemur. The weight of the animal can reach up to 50 g, and the size of the body with the tail does not exceed 22 cm.

Rat lemur

In Madagascar, extinct lemurs were found that weighed about 200 kg. Today, the short-tailed indri is recognized as the largest lemur.

The length of the body varies from 50 to 70 cm. The weight of the largest primates is 7.5 kg.

Description of representatives of the lemur family

Primates have a dense and long body, the head is small in size, with a rounded or flattened shape. The muzzle resembles a fox, it is pointed and elongated. Animals have 4 or 5 groups of vibrissae, which they need for touch.

Surroundings are conquered by the large eyes of the lemur, close-set and similar to saucers. They had a wary expression of curiosity.

Nocturnal primates have wider eye orbits than diurnal ones. The eyes of animals can be different, even the blue-eyed lemur is found.

The animal lemur is the owner of widely spaced incisors and lower incisors adjacent to the fangs. All limbs have 5 fingers, on which nails grow. But there were some exceptions - there is a long claw on the second toe of the foot.

This characteristic is not possessed by the Madagascar arm. Lemurs need nails to comb their fur.

As for the Madagascar arm, the fingers of its limbs are equipped with claws, and its nails are located only on the big toes.

An attractive feature of primates is a chic tail. In length, it can exceed the length of the body.

With the help of the tail, lemurs communicate with each other. It allows animals to keep their balance when they jump from one branch to another. The short-tailed indri has the smallest tail, its length is only 3-5 cm.

Coat color varies, there are individuals with red fur or bright white color.

There are species with a protective gray-brown color.

Of particular note is the ring-tailed lemur - its tail, curved in a spiral, is decorated with wide stripes of black and white.

Lemur habitat

Millions of years ago, lemurs lived in Africa, but 165 million years BC. e. a breakdown has occurred. After that, representatives of the population ended up in Madagascar and the islands that are next to it.

The places where the lemur lives in wildlife are considered a unique zone. Animals have adapted to all biotopes in Madagascar and the Comoros.

Debate over the classification of lemurs

At the moment, the final classification has not been determined.

Lori is considered by some to be a lemur, but such an opinion cannot be accurate.

Loriformes, according to most scientists, rather represent a separate infraorder.

Lemur families

The Madagascar bat is the only species in the bat family. The nocturnal lifestyle of the lemur and its appearance give every reason to compare the animal with the night spirit.

There are 5 genera and 34 species in the family of dwarf primates. All animals resemble mice or rats.

Miniature representatives of lemurs are active at night.

The family of thin-bodied lemurs combines animals with a slender physique. It includes 1 genus and 26 species. The maximum body weight of an individual is 1.2 kg. These primates are characterized by a nocturnal lifestyle.

The lemur family is represented by species that are the most studied.

These include the most beautiful primates - the ring-tailed lemur with stripes on its tail, the crowned lemur, on whose head a dark mark stands out, and the wari lemur. This family contains 5 genus and 21 species.

In the indriev family, you can find both small representatives and large ones.

For example: avagis is less than 30 cm, and the short-tailed indri grows up to 70 cm. The peculiarity of animals from this family is the absence of hair on the muzzle.

How a lemur spends his life

Most primates live in trees. However, there are species that descend to the ground and stay there for quite a long time.

Most lemurs are social or territorial animals. They live in family groups, each of which can have from 3 to 30 individuals.

When communicating with each other, they use sounds similar to grunting or purring. They sleep in trees and feed on plants.

Each species of lemur has its own mating season. At this time, you can hear the animals screaming loudly. Females bring offspring every year, except for the Madagascar arm, she gives birth 1 time in 2 or 3 years.

Lemur is easy to train: the animal does not have aggressiveness in character. An obedient primate needs comfortable living conditions. He needs a spacious cage with branches or vines on which he could climb.

A pet lemur needs a house with a bedroom. There should always be fresh drinking water in his dwelling. The diet includes plant foods and animal products.

Photo of a lemur

Pygmy mouse lemur (Microcebus myoxinus)

Class - mammals
Order - primates

Family - dwarf lemurs

Genus - mouse lemurs

Appearance

The smallest of the mouse lemurs and one of the smallest primates (the main competitor for this title is the pygmy marmoset). Weight about 300 grams, body length about 20 centimeters, 10 of which are tail. It has a red-brown color on the back and a creamy-white belly.

The muzzle is short, the ears are almost bare, webbed type. The coat color is brownish-red or gray (some with white markings), dark rings around the eyes, emphasizing the large size of the eyes. In mouse lemurs, the navicular and calcaneal bones are elongated, like in African galagos. They also move in the same way, by jumping.

Habitat

It lives in arid deciduous and mixed forests in the west of Madagascar, in the Kirindi Natural Park, where it was discovered. It is believed that the range is wider, but there is no confirmation of this.

Lifestyle in nature

The basis of nutrition: spiders, insects, fruits, nectar, leaves, less often - small frogs and lizards.

There are actually mouse lemurs alone and in pairs, but in captivity they can be kept in large groups. They sleep curled up in tree hollows or in nests made of grass, small twigs and leaves. They are in the same state during the period of hibernation, which they fall into during the dry season. In a favorable (rainy) period, they accumulate fat in different parts of the body, especially at the base of the tail, and in a state of prolonged stupor they use up these fat reserves.

reproduction

The pregnancy of mouse lemurs proper lasts about 60-70 days, the female gives birth to 2-3 blind cubs weighing 3-5 g, the eyes open already on the 2nd day of life.

At 15 days they begin to climb. They become completely independent after 60 days, and reach sexual maturity at 7-10 months. They breed relatively easily in captivity.

For keeping a dwarf lemur at home, any one is suitable, in which there must be tree branches. It is better to make the back of the cage deaf. So lemurs feel safe. The bedding in the rest box should be made of natural cotton wool or dried hay. The place where the cage with your pet will be located should be away from drafts, because lemurs are prone to colds. Otherwise, these animals easily tolerate the climate of the middle zone. It is also very important to keep the cage clean: a domestic lemur will not do this himself and will smell bad. First of all, light cleaning should be done every day, and once a month, wipe the floor with a damp cloth and sprinkle with a fresh layer of sawdust.

A shelter should be installed in the cage where the lemurs can hide from prying eyes and daylight. It is best to use a fur nest envelope, which is convenient to hang in a cage.

Dwarf lemurs are fed most often late in the evening, although it is possible to teach them to eat during the day, but it is better, if the animal does not want to, do not force it. It is most convenient in a deep metal bowl (as for parrots), which is hung on the bars of the cage. Most often, their wake time comes around eight o'clock in the evening, around this time they are served food. Some species of lemurs eat animal food, in this case they have to be fed with boiled meat, various insects, which some catch themselves while walking around the apartment. Also baby food. The main thing is not to overfeed! If you give a lot of bananas, grapes, zofobas, carrots, lettuce, nuts, then the sweetest (bananas and zofobasy) will be eaten. The rest of the necessary things will not be touched. Therefore, you can arrange fasting days and give, for example, only carrots, one almond, and other vegetables. An example of feeding: two zofobas, half a large cockroach (or only one cockroach), one nut, a few pieces of an apple, just a little bit of a banana, a couple of pieces of dates or figs. If there are more insects, then less than the rest. In general, it is better to undereat a couple of times a week.

Give lemurs commercial primate food with a mixture of fresh (mango, apples) and dry fruits, nuts (almonds, hazelnuts), bread, boiled rice, insects (meal beetle, zofobas, cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers), vitamin supplements. Occasionally they are given dairy-free baby porridge (placed with water and honey can be added).

There should always be fresh water. The drinker can be ball. So that animals do not feel bored and do not lose their appetite, it is very important to provide them with a varied diet.

In captivity, lemurs are calm, they never break anything. This is probably the only species of primate that can be allowed to go outside the cage without much control. They easily become attached to the owner and miss him greatly in his absence.

In the Lemuridae family, there are both common, widespread, and very rare species. Some are widely known to scientists and the general public, others are poorly understood. This article will focus on the smallest member of the family - mouse and pygmy lemurs, which are difficult to study due to their shyness and secretive lifestyle.

Mouse and pygmy lemurs are the smallest primates in Madagascar. They live throughout the island, including rainforests in the east, dry deciduous forests in the west, and spiny forests in the south.

Habitats of various species of pygmy and mouse lemurs

The family of dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleidae) is represented by the following species.

mouse lemurs

Most small mouse lemurs of the family Cheirogaleidae belong to the genus (Microcebus). Scientists are constantly reviewing the taxonomic status of these species.

The gray mouse lemur is found in deciduous forests in the northwest and south of Madagascar.

The brown mouse lemur lives in the thickets along the edges, in clearings in the eastern part of Madagascar.

The pygmy mouse lemur can be found in the central part of the island.

The golden brown mouse lemur inhabits the northwest of Madagascar.

There are 5 species of dwarf lemurs belonging to four genera.

The pygmy lemur Kokerela has taken a fancy to the coastal forests in the west and northwest of the island.

Hairy-eared lemur in a small area in the primary rainforests of the northeast of Madagascar.

The rat lemur is an inhabitant of primary and mature secondary forests in the eastern part of the island.

The fat-tailed lemur is found in primary and mature secondary forests in the northwest, west and south of Madagascar.

The forked lemur lives in the mature coastal forests of the west, northwest and east of the island.

The body length of the animals of this family is from 9-11 (dwarf mouse lemur) to 23-30 cm (forked-striped lemur). They weigh respectively from 25-38 g to 350-500 g. They have an elongated body and short limbs. The head is small, with protruding eyes, the ears are relatively large, slightly pubescent. The tail is long, it can accumulate fat reserves. The coat is short and dense, mostly grey-brown on the back and white to cream on the underside of the body.

Features of the lifestyle of dwarf lemurs

All species live on trees, bushes and vines. Some may descend to the ground to catch small animals.

Both pygmy and mouse lemurs are only active at night. They run and jump on four limbs. Like many other nocturnal mammals, these animals have a "mirror" in the eye behind the retina - a layer of light-reflecting crystals.

During the daytime, mouse and pygmy lemurs rest in cozy self-built nests or use tree hollows or some other shelter. Often they compete for tree hollows, especially in preparation for a long hibernation. Cockerell's pygmy lemurs build globular leaf nests high in the canopy. Sometimes they are occupied by forked lemurs.

Individual species of these lemurs have a feature unique to primates: during the dry season, they can hibernate or stupor for several weeks or even months. Interestingly, in gray mouse lemurs, only females fall into suspended animation, while males remain active all year round.

Recent research speaks to the complex social behavior of some species. For example, adult Cockerell dwarf lemurs usually sleep alone, but occasionally find adult males sleeping in pairs. Thick-tailed and forked-striped species always sleep in a pair with permanent partners of the opposite sex. And gray mouse lemurs prefer to sleep in large groups consisting of males and females. Sometimes there are more than 15 individuals in one hollow, but more often 4-5.

Among the fork-nosed and thick-tailed pygmy lemurs, pairs claim their territory by holding grand duet concerts and also marking the boundaries with feces.

Diet of small primates

Miniature lemurs feed on fruits, small arthropods, and gum. All representatives of the family in question diversify their diet with flowers and nectar. Fat-tailed dwarf lemurs prefer fruits. And the diet of the dwarf lemur Cockerel, among other things, includes vertebrates - chameleons and snakes. There are also those who eat practically only gum (forked lemurs). These animals have a long tongue and teeth adapted to cut the bark of trees and lick the tree sap that flows out.

How do lemurs communicate?

Just as people speak different dialects that reflect their regional affiliation, so many representatives of the animal world communicate in special languages. Scientists have found that mouse lemurs also have their own dialects.

To study the structure of the lemur population, zoologists used various methods (multiple repeated capture of animals, radio collars, determination of the genotype of many dozens of individuals and labeling them with microchips). As a result, it was found that a large population can consist of smaller neighboring groups of about 35 individuals each. Young females usually stay with the matter, while young males migrate to other places. Individuals of a community scattered throughout the territory communicate using a wide range of sounds with a frequency of 10-36 kHz (a person hears sounds in the range of 0.02-20 kHz). Sounds with a frequency beyond our hearing have been studied using special instruments. It turned out that, like other mammals living in groups, in lemurs, each individual and its sex can be identified by crying. But it turns out that screams are individual not only for each animal. Neighboring communities speak different dialects.

During the mating season, males emit a vibrating sound. This call is an integral part of the reproduction process. Shouts with a frequency of 13-35 kHz, lasting about a second, consist of musical phrases lined up in a certain order and resemble birdsong. The frequency of repetition of calls depends on the motivation of the male, the degree of interest of females and the calls of competing males. Animals from the same community emit trills, recognizable in the common chorus and at the same time sharply different from the calls of males from neighboring communities.

Enemies of miniature lemurs

Due to their miniature size and high population density, mouse and pygmy lemurs are easy prey for predators. Birds of prey alone destroy up to 30% of the population of mouse lemurs per year. Small animals are also hunted by civets, mongooses and large snakes.

conservation in nature

Population densities of pygmy and mouse lemurs can be very high. Widespread species are not at risk of extinction. However, such a species as the hairy-eared lemur is very rare, and its habitat and biological features are practically not studied.

Some mouse lemurs adapt well to environmental changes and continue to live in secondary forests, clearings and plantations, but, as observations show, under these conditions, the animals are not able to maintain a viable population.

Dwarf and mouse lemurs are rarely mentioned in conservation projects, in part because their distribution and lifestyle remain poorly understood.

In contact with

Dwarf lemurs (lat. Cheirogaleidae) are mammals belonging to the family from the suborder Wet-nosed primates. This family, endemic for a significant part of the territory of Madagascar, also includes rat and mouse lemurs.

Description of dwarf lemurs

All living dwarf lemurs are well preserved in some primitive features, making such mammals one of the best living evidence of our origins. Nevertheless, such inhabitants of the tropics of Madagascar are practically not at all like any monkeys well known today and studied by people.

Appearance

Dwarf lemurs are animals with long tails and characteristic, very well developed, bulging eyes. The head of the dwarf lemur is shortened, with a rounded muzzle. The hind legs are slightly longer than the forelimbs, but all the fingers of such a mammal are equally well developed, characterized by the presence of tenacious and sharp claws. Ears of medium size are covered on the outside with sparse and very thin, numerous hairs.

The fur of medium-sized animals is soft, and in some areas - with a pronounced silkiness. On the back, the hair is wavy and quite delicate. Dwarf lemurs inhabiting the tropical forest zones of Madagascar are distinguished by red hair with a brownish tint. All animals living in the dry forests of the western part of Madagascar have predominantly gray fur in the back.

It is interesting! The smallest today are mouse dwarf lemurs, and the average weight of an adult of this species is just over 28-30 grams.

The color of the primate's eyes directly depends on the species, but most often the mammal has orange-red or brown-yellow eyes. Among the thirty species, it is mouse lemurs that are the most famous, since today such animals are most often purchased by connoisseurs of exotic pets as a pet.

Character and lifestyle

All representatives of the Dwarf lemur family are nocturnal animals that are active only with the onset of the dark time of the day, which is the reason for the large eyes that see perfectly at night thanks to special reflective crystals. During the daytime, such mammals sleep, characteristically curling up into a ball. For sleep or rest, tree hollows and comfortable nests made using grass, small branches and foliage are mainly used.

In zoological parks, dwarf lemurs, along with other nocturnal animals, are kept in special conditions or halls called “Night Primates”. During daylight hours, sufficient darkness is artificially maintained in such rooms, which allows any nocturnal animals to feel comfortable and maintain natural, natural activity. At night, on the contrary, the lights turn on, so the lemurs go to sleep.

All representatives of a relatively large family can be deservedly classified as unique animals among known primates. This opinion is easily explained by the ability of animals to spend a long time in a state of stupor or suspended animation.

During this period, there is a slowdown in metabolism and a noticeable decrease in body temperature, due to which the animal saves a large amount of energy. Never hibernating Fork-banded lemurs nest in tree hollows, and sleep and rest exclusively in a characteristic sitting posture, head down between the forelimbs.

With the onset of the warm season, at the stage of preparation for falling into "hibernation", pygmy lemurs begin to actively feed, which increases the weight of the animal by about a couple of times. Fat reserves accumulate at the tail base, after which they are gradually consumed by the lemur's body during the period of suspended animation. Under natural conditions, dwarf lemurs prefer to stay alone or can pair up. They very dexterously move by jumping or running along the branches in tree crowns, using all four limbs for this purpose.

How long do lemurs live

Among lemurs, there are differences in overall lifespan. For example, Cockerell mouse lemurs in nature live for about twenty years, and representatives of the species Gray mouse lemurs in captivity live up to fifteen years and even a little more.

Species of pygmy lemurs

To date, the Dwarf lemur family includes five genera, and is also represented by three dozen species, among which the following are the most common:

• Fat-tailed pygmy lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius) - have a body length in the range of 6.0-6.1 cm with a tail length of 13.5-13.6 cm and a body weight of 30.5-30.6 g;
• Large dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus major) - are characterized by a fairly short tail, with a noticeable thickening at the base;
• Mouse lemurs of Cockerela (Mirza coquereli) - differ in body length with a head within 18-20 cm with a tail no more than 32-33 cm and a maximum body weight of 280-300 g;
• Pygmy mouse lemurs (Microcebus myoxinus) - are one of the smallest primates with a body weight of 43-55 g with a length of 20-22 cm;
• Gray mouse lemurs (Microsebus murinus) - one of the largest representatives of the genus and have a weight in the range of 58-67 g;
• Red mouse lemurs (Microbus rufus) - are characterized by a mass of about 50 g with a body length in the range of 12.0-12.5 cm and a tail - 11.0-11.5 cm;
• Bertha's mouse lemurs (Microsebus berthae) - endemics of the island state of Madagascar are currently the smallest primates known to science with a body length of 9.0-9.5 cm with an adult weight of 24-37 g;
• Hairy-eared lemurs (Allosebus trichotis) - have a length of up to 28-30 cm with an average weight of not more than 80-100 g;
• Fork-banded lemurs (Рhaner furcifer) - have a body length of 25-27 cm and a tail at the level of 30-38 cm.

It is interesting! In 2012, a new species, the Herpa mouse lemur or Microbus gerpi, was discovered in the eastern part of the Sahafina forest, located 50 km from the Mantadia National Park area.

Six species are assigned to the genus Cheirogaleus or Rat lemurs, and the genus Microsebus or Mouse lemurs is represented by two dozen different species. The genus Mirza is considered to be the smallest today.

Range, distribution

Cheirogaleus medius are common in the western and southern parts of Madagascar, where they inhabit dry and humid deciduous tropical forests, preferring the lower tier of vegetation. The species Cheirogaleus major lives in forested and wooded dry areas in the east and north of Madagascar, and is sometimes found in the west-central part of Madagascar.

Woolly-eared dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus crossleyi) inhabit the northern and eastern forests of Madagascar, and Sibri dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus sibreei) are distributed only in the east of the island nation. Representatives of the Mirza coquereli species have chosen the arid forests of Western Madagascar. Discovered by Kappeler only in 2005, the Great Northern Mouse Lemur is an animal common in the north of Madagascar.

Microcebus myoxinus is native to the arid mixed and deciduous forests of the island nation and Kirindi Nature Park, while Microcebus rufus has natural habitats in secondary and primary forests, including forest belts in coastal tropical areas and secondary bamboo forest areas.

Diet of pygmy lemurs

Almost omnivorous representatives of the family Dwarf lemurs eat not only fruits and bark, but also flowers and nectar, being active pollinators of many plants. Some species are characterized by a short descent to the ground, which allows them to hunt all kinds of insects, as well as quite small animals, including spiders and small birds, frogs and chameleons.

It is interesting! The amount of vegetation is not always sufficient to feed animals, therefore, to replenish their strength, lemurs use a long rest or slow down their motor activity.

Among other things, mammalian primates often indulge themselves by licking the juices of various plants with their relatively long tongue. The teeth of the dwarf lemur have a special structure, therefore they are perfectly adapted for light incision of the tree bark, which stimulates the active flow of plant nutritional juices.

Reproduction and offspring

The active rut in different species of representatives of the family Dwarf lemurs is confined strictly to a certain type of season, and the mating behavior of most of these primate mammals is represented by loud cries and touches to their partner. For example, the breeding season for the fat-tailed pygmy lemur is October. Family relationships can be either monogamous or polygamous.. As a rule, the female brings offspring annually, but the total duration of pregnancy in representatives of different species varies greatly.

After about a couple of months of pregnancy, the female gives birth to two or three fairly well-developed cubs. Pregnancy in large dwarf lemurs lasts a little over two months, and the offspring that are born are fed with mother's milk for 45-60 days. The species Mirza coquereli bears its cubs for about three months, after which one to four cubs are born. The weight of a newborn dwarf lemur is only 3.0-5.0 grams. Babies are born completely blind, but open their eyes very quickly.

After birth, the cubs hang on their mother's stomach, clinging to the female's fur with their limbs, but adults are able to independently carry offspring in their mouths. Most often, at the age of one month, cubs of the Dwarf lemur can easily and quickly climb plants or trees, but at first they tirelessly follow their mother.

Important! As soon as a mammal is weaned from breastfeeding, it immediately acquires complete independence.

Mammals primates reach puberty at one and a half or two years, but even at this age the animal maintains close contact with its parent, so the mother makes itself felt with loud cries. During the seasonal breeding season, species affiliation is easily determined by the voice data of partners, which effectively prevents the process of hybridization between different species with significant external similarity.