Lemurs are different than both monkeys and apes. Something that's particularly cool about them is that they are ONLY found in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands which are between mainland Africa and Madagascar, but they are still pretty diverse within those regions.
Lemurs tend to have a longer rostrum (snout) than other primates.
This is a ring-tailed lemur.
Most lemurs have a very distinct look that distinguishes them from other animals. Almost all lemurs have very long tails, often longer than their body. They have both opposable thumbs and big-toes. Unlike other primates they have a very sensitive nose. They are the least closely related to humans of all of the primates. Their tail is not prehensile (they can't hang from it or grab things with it) like many monkey tails are.
Hope that helps!
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About Me
Matt and I were married two years ago. We recently bought our first home in Eagle Mountain, UT. Little Ezra joined our family on September 30, 2007, and we love him lots! Feel free to get a peek into our life together here or at Matt's blog.
My wife is a buh-genius.
Cool. This was all I knew of lemurs.
Why on earth would they have such a long tail if they didn't swing from it? Seems like a waste. Do they use it for balance like a cheetah?
Maybe they just want to look nice. Fashion over function.
I asked Dan last night if he could have any extra appendage what would it be. He told me he would totally have a tail, but I'm pretty sure he'd want to use it to help him climb so he wouldn't be lemur like.
Actually lemurs are very arboreal, so the tail would be used for balance while climbing around in trees, not just for show. Although, they do look pretty neat.
The Christmas concert is December 14th (a Thursday), at 7:30 pm.
Lemurs are really big on sun-bathing. It's one of their favorite things to do. Learned this from your sister, Chandler.
143-dad
Hi,
Small pedantic correction for you from a monkey specialist! Only South american monkeys have prehensile tails! There are other differences between monkeys and lemurs, including brain size and dentition. As you can imagin the subject is complicated. But I can thoroughly recommend Madagascar as an amazing place to visit! Check out Aye-Ayes: probabably the weirdest of the lemurs!
Dan
I thought that all/most new world monkeys had prehensile tails... which would obviously mean that they live in the "new world" okay I get it now. Thanks!
I would love to visit Madagascar, such interesting biodiversity!