Cheirogaleidae

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Cheirogaleids
Eastern Fork-marked Lemur (Phaner furcifer) Goodman's Mouse Lemur
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Primates Suborder: Strepsirhini Infraorder: Lemuriformes Superfamily: Cheirogaleoidea Gray, 1873 Family: Cheirogaleidae Gray, 1873
Genera
Cheirogaleus Microcebus Mirza Allocebus Phaner

Cheirogaleidae is the family of strepsirrhine primates that contains the various dwarf and mouse lemurs. Like all other lemurs, cheirogaleids live exclusively on the island of Madagascar. This is the only family in the Cheirogaleoidea superfamily.

Cheirogaleids are smaller than the other lemurs and, in fact, they are the smallest primates. They have a soft, long fur colored grey-brown to reddish on top with a generally brighter underbelly. Typically they have small ears, large, close set eyes, and long hind legs. Like all strepsirrhines they have fine claws at the second toe of the hind legs. They grow to a size of only 13 to 28 cm, with a tail that is very long, sometimes up to one and a half times as long as the body.

Dwarf and mouse lemurs are nocturnal and arboreal. They are excellent climbers and can also jump far, using their long tail for balance. When on the ground (a rare occurrence) they move by hopping on their hind legs. They spend the day in tree hollows or home-made nests. Cheirogaleids are typically solitary but sometimes live together in pairs.

Some species (such as the Lesser Dwarf Lemur) store fat at the hind legs and the base of the tail and hibernate.

Cheirogaleids are omnivores, eating fruits, flowers and leaves (and sometimes nectar) as well as insects, spiders and small vertebrates.

The females usually have three pairs of nipples. After a meager 60 day gestation, they will bear two to four (usually two or three) young. After five to six weeks these are weaned and become fully mature near the end of their first year or sometime in their second year, depending on the species. In human care, they can live for up to 15 years, although their life expectancy in the wild is probably significantly shorter.

[edit] Classification

• Superfamily Cheirogaleoidea
  • Family Cheirogaleidae
    • Genus Cheirogaleus: dwarf lemurs
      • C. medius group
        • Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus medius
        • Southern Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus adipicaudatus
      • C. major group
        • Greater Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus major
        • Furry-eared Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus crossleyi
        • Lesser Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus minusculus
        • Greater Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus ravus
        • Sibree's Dwarf Lemur, Cheirogaleus sibreei
    • Genus Microcebus: mouse lemurs
      • Gray Mouse Lemur, Microcebus murinus
      • Reddish-gray Mouse Lemur, Microcebus griseorufus
      • Golden-brown Mouse Lemur, Microcebus ravelobensis
      • Northern Rufous Mouse Lemur, Microcebus tavaratra
      • Sambirano Mouse Lemur, Microcebus sambiranensis
      • Simmons' Mouse Lemur, Microcebus simmonsi
      • Pygmy Mouse Lemur, Microcebus myoxinus
      • Brown Mouse Lemur, Microcebus rufus
      • Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur, Microcebus berthae
      • Goodman's Mouse Lemur, Microcebus lehilahytsara
      • Jolly's Mouse Lemur, Microcebus jollyae
      • Mittermeier's Mouse Lemur, Microcebus mittermeieri
      • Claire's Mouse Lemur, Microcebus mamiratra
      • Microcebus bongolavensis
      • Microcebus danfossi
      • Microcebus lokobensis
    • Genus Mirza: giant mouse lemurs
      • Coquerel's Giant Mouse Lemur or Coquerel's Dwarf Lemur, Mirza coquereli
      • Northern Giant Mouse Lemur, Mirza zaza
    • Genus Allocebus
      • Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur, Allocebus trichotis
    • Genus Phaner: fork-marked lemurs
      • Eastern Fork-marked Lemur, Phaner furcifer
      • Pale Fork-marked Lemur, Phaner pallescens
      • Pariente's Fork-marked Lemur, Phaner parienti
      • Amber Mountain Fork-marked Lemur, Phaner electromontis

[edit] References

• 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, 111-114. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
• Edward E. Louis, Melissa S. Coles, Rambinintsoa Andriantompohavana, Julie A. Sommer, Shannon E. Engberg, John R. Zaonarivelo, Mireya I. Mayor, Rick A. Brenneman (2006). "Revision of the Mouse Lemurs (Microcebus) of Eastern Madagascar". International Journal of Primatology 27 (2): 347–389. DOI:10.1007/s10764-006-9036-1. 

Extant primate families by suborder
Strepsirrhini: Cheirogaleidae · Lemuridae · Lepilemuridae · Indriidae · Daubentoniidae · Lorisidae · Galagidae Haplorrhini: Tarsiidae · Cebidae · Aotidae · Pitheciidae · Atelidae · Cercopithecidae · Hylobatidae · Hominidae