Mongoose lemur

The mongoose lemur ranges in size from {{convert|12|to|18|in|abbr=on}} long plus a tail of {{convert|16|to|25|in|abbr=on}}. Both sexes are born with white beards, but become obviously dimorphic around six weeks of age when the males develop red beards and red cheeks. The males also have lighter faces than the females. Males may further distinguish themselves when scent-marking territory, as they occasionally develop a bald patch on top of their heads from rubbing.

File:LemurMongozSmit.jpg

The mongoose lemur lives in dry deciduous forests on the island of Madagascar and in the humid forests on the islands of the Comoros. This makes the mongoose lemur one of only two lemurs found outside of Madagascar,[http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/czs/Brookfield/Exhibit-and-Animal-Guide/Hamill-Family-Play-Zoo/Mongoose-Lemur.aspx Chicago Zoological Society - Brookfield Zoo's Mongoose Lemur page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720051655/http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/czs/Brookfield/Exhibit-and-Animal-Guide/Hamill-Family-Play-Zoo/Mongoose-Lemur.aspx |date=2010-07-20 }} though it is an introduced species in the Comoros.{{Cite web |url=http://www.arkive.org/mongoose-lemur/eulemur-mongoz/info.html |title=ARKive - Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz) |access-date=2010-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221153455/http://www.arkive.org/mongoose-lemur/eulemur-mongoz/info.html |archive-date=2009-02-21 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite journal |last1=Pastorini |first1=J. |last2=Thalmann |first2=U. |last3= Martin |first3=R. D. |title= A molecular approach to comparative phylogeography of extant Malagasy lemurs |doi= 10.1073/pnas.1031673100 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=100 |issue=10 |pages= 5879–5884 |date= 2003 |url= http://www.pnas.org/content/100/10/5879.full.pdf |pmid= 12719521|pmc= 156295 |bibcode= 2003PNAS..100.5879P |doi-access= free}}

The mongoose lemur mostly eats fruit, though flowers, leaves, and nectar also make up part of its diet; (they may use the nectar of the non-native kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra{{efn|C. pentandra, although not native to Madagascar have been used for reforestation on the island.{{cite journal |last1=Hending |first1=Daniel |last2=Randrianarison |first2=Heriniaina |last3=Holderied |first3=Marc |last4=McCabe |first4=Grainne |last5=Cotton |first5=Sam |title=The kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra [L.] Gaertn, Malvaceae) as a food source for native vertebrate species during times of resource scarcity and its potential for reforestation in Madagascar |journal=Austral Ecology |date=December 2021 |volume=46 |issue=8 |pages=1440–1444 |doi=10.1111/aec.13076|s2cid=237889124 |hdl=1983/b86b1cc3-350c-4a70-9fee-2a8e931302ab |hdl-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Gómez-Maqueo |first1=Ximena |last2=Gamboa-deBuen |first2=Alicia |title=The biology of the genus Ceiba, a potential source for sustainable production of natural fiber |journal=Plants |date=15 February 2022 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=521 |doi=10.3390/plants11040521 |pmid=35214854 |pmc=8876852 |doi-access=free }}}} for nearly eighty percent of their diet during the dry season in some parts of their range).{{cite journal |last1=Pastor |first1=Juan Francisco |last2=Muchlinski |first2=Magdalena Natalia |last3=Potau |first3=Josep Maria |last4=Casado |first4=Aroa |last5=García-Mesa |first5=Yolanda |last6=Vega |first6=Jose Antonio |last7=Cabo |first7=Roberto |title=The tongue in three species of lemurs: Flower and nectar feeding adaptations |journal=Animals |date=27 September 2021 |volume=11 |issue=10 |pages=2811 |doi=10.3390/ani11102811 |pmid=34679832 |doi-access=free }} As such, mongoose lemurs act as both pollinators and seed dispersers. Feeding on grubs and beetles has also been observed. They are unusual among primates in that they are diurnal or nocturnal, depending on the season, being more active during the day in the wet season and changing activity to the night during the hotter dry season.

Mongoose lemurs are arboreal, with the ability to jump several meters from one tree to another. They live in small family groups, usually consisting of a bonded pair and one to three offspring.[http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/mongoose-lemur Bristol Zoo - Mongoose Lemur] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606040138/http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/mongoose-lemur |date=2010-06-06 }} These groups rarely encounter one another, but when they do, they are aggressive. Young are born just prior to the rainy season, from August to October. Gestation lasts about four months and weaning takes place around five months after the young are born. The offspring then usually stay with their parents until three years of age, when they have reached full maturity.

Mongoose lemurs have seasonal habits. Their breeding, eating, and activity habits are largely shaped around the season. Seasonal fluctuations in food resource availability describe the behavior of mongoose lemurs such as female dominance and small group size. Mongoose lemurs usually conceive their offspring some time during October. They present as Nocturnal during the dry season and diurnal during the wet season.{{cite web |title=Mongoose Lemur |url=https://lemur.duke.edu/discover/meet-the-lemurs/mongoose-lemur/ |website=Duke Lemur Center |language=en}}

Captive mongoose lemurs can live up to 26 years, while wild specimens live 18–20 years. Mongoose lemurs in the wild are threatened by the destruction and fragmentation of the forests in which they live, and also by hunting. Their numbers have dwindled by about 80% over a period of 25 years, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated their conservation status as "critically endangered". Mongoose lemurs are more endangered in Madagascar, but there could be a way to conserve them in Comoros because of the increase of these species' population in the area.{{cite journal |last1=Nadhurou |first1=Bakri |last2=Righini |first2=Roberta |last3=Gamba |first3=Marco |last4=Laiolo |first4=Paola |last5=Ouledi |first5=Ahmed |last6=Giacoma |first6=Cristina |title=Effects of human disturbance on the mongoose lemur Eulemur mongoz in Comoros: implications and potential for the conservation of a Critically Endangered species |journal=Oryx |date=January 2017 |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=60–67 |doi=10.1017/S0030605315000897|s2cid=86069333 |hdl=2318/1529022 |hdl-access=free }}

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{{Wikispecies-inline|Eulemur mongoz|Eulemur mongoz (Mongoose Lemur)}}

• [http://www.animalinfo.org/species/primate/lemumong.htm Animalinfo.org: Mongoose lemur]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040612201536/http://www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org/what_to_see/madagascar/lemur_mongoose.cfm Rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org: Mongoose lemur]
• {{ARKive}}
• [https://lemur.duke.edu/ Duke Lemur Center] A research, conservation, and education facility
• [https://www.lemurreserve.org/ Lemur Conservation Foundation] A research, conservation, and education facility

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{{Taxonbar|from=Q543695}}

Category:True lemurs

Category:Endemic fauna of Madagascar

Category:Mammals of Madagascar

Category:Critically endangered fauna of Africa

Category:Mammals described in 1766

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus