Lemur

thumb|A ring-tailed lemur Lemurs are primates of the suborder Strepsirrhini and the Superfamily (biology) superfamily Lemuroidea, which encompasses 8 Family (taxonomy) families and 15 genus genera. The various species of lemur are endemism endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are generally small, arboreal locomotion arboreal, and nocturnality nocturnal. Quotes Most lemurs have long, fur-covered tails. A ring-tailed lemur's tail is about 25 inches (64 centimeters) long. That is about 7 inches (18 cm) longer than its body. Unlike New World monkey monkeys, lemurs cannot hang from their tails. Lemurs use their tails for balance as they move from tree to tree. Some lemurs raise their tails high to tell other members of their group where they are. The ring-tailed lemur uses its tail as a very smelly weapon to make predators and other lemurs go away. Karen Baicker, Kate Delaney, Sharon Yates, Lemurs Amazing animals Pleasantville, New York Gareth Stevens Publishing, A Weekly Reader™ Company 2009 9780836891201 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeAcT7EnxqYC&pg=PA21 21 (reprint of 2007 1st edition; juvenile nonfiction; 48 pages) Mouse lemurs are the smallest and fastest reproducing primates, as well as one of the most abundant, and they are emerging as a model organism for primate biology, behaviour, health and conservation. Although much has been learnt about their ecology and phylogeny in Madagascar and their physiology, little is known about their Cell biology cellular and molecular biology. Here we used droplet-based and plate-based single-cell RNA sequencing to create Tabula Microcebus, a transcriptomic atlas of 226,000 cells from 27 mouse lemur organs opportunistically obtained from four donors clinically and histologically characterized. Using computational cell clustering, integration and expert cell annotation, we define and biologically organize more than 750 lemur molecular cell types and their full gene expression profiles. This includes cognates of most classical human cell types, including Stem cell stem and progenitor cells, and differentiating cells along the developmental trajectories of spermatogenesis, haematopoiesis and other adult tissues. We also describe dozens of previously unidentified or sparsely characterized cell types. We globally compare expression profiles to define the molecular relationships of cell types across the body, and explore primate cell and gene expression evolution by comparing lemur transcriptomes to those of human, mouse and macaque. This reveals cell-type-specific patterns of primate specialization and many cell types and genes for which the mouse lemur provides a better human model than mouse1. The atlas provides a cellular and molecular foundation for studying this model primate and establishes a general approach for characterizing other emerging model organisms. Camille Ezran, Shixuan Liu, Stephen Chang, Jingsi Ming, Olga Botvinnik, Lolita Penland, Alexander Tarashansky, Antoine de Morree, Kyle J. Travaglini, and Jia Zhao, A molecular cell atlas of mouse lemur, an emerging model primate Nature 644 8075 2025 173–184 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09113-9 I review new evidence on origins and adaptive radiation of Lemur Malagasy lemurs, a remarkably diverse group containing 13% of living primate species. The number of recognized lemur species has increased significantly, partly due to research revealing specific subdivisions within known populations but mainly because of discovery of new populations through fieldwork. Some species feared to be extinct have also been rediscovered. Specific numbers have increased particularly in small-bodied, cryptic genera for which continued research will surely reveal even more species.Adaptative radiation of lemurs has been essentially confined to Madagascar. The high density of lemur species on that island, associated with very small geographical ranges, has major implications both for their evolutionary divergence and for conservation. Reconstructions of phylogenetic relationships among primates have been considerably enhanced by DNA sequence data. ... DNA sequence analyses have also yielded a broad consensus for relationships between True lemur Eulemur, Bamboo lemur Hapalemur, Lemur (genus) Lemur and Ruffled lemur Varecia: Varecia branched away first, while Lemur is more closely related to Hapalemur than to Eulemur.... Examination of underestimation of times of origin because of poor sampling in the fossil record has confirmed previous suggestions that primates originated considerably earlier than generally believed. Several recent phylogenetic reconstructions based on DNA sequence data and using calibration dates derived from groups other than primates provide independent support for this inference. Evolution of primates Overall, it now seems that primates originated at around 90 Ma rather than the 55 Ma indicated by direct reading of the known fossil record. Hence, colonization of Madagascar by lemurs would have taken place at about 80 Ma, double the date usually accepted, and should be interpreted in terms of contemporary continental relationships. Robert D. Martin, Origins, diversity and relationships of lemurs International Journal of Primatology 21 6 2000 1021–1049 https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005563113546 The lemur is really in big trouble right now. ... 103 species ... 91% of them are in danger of extinction, and they are the most endangered of any mammal group. Patricia Wright (primatologist) Patricia Wright, Exploring the "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar' ABC News, YouTube April 5, 2014 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eaTBoqpNEg&t=292s (quote at 4:52 of 5:43) External links Lemur Images and Stock Photos gettyimages.com https://www.gettyimages.com/search/2/image?phrase=lemur&tracked_gsrp_landing=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gettyimages.com%2Fphotos%2Flemur Lemurs Lemur Conservation Foundation https://www.lemurreserve.org/lemurs/ Category:Primates