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Gray mouse lemur - MICROCEBUS MURINUS
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The word "Lemur": "Lemur" is Latin for "ghostlike," coined by Linneaus (the man who started naming animals in Latin), because it has a ghostlike face and it is active at night.
Description: This, and the pygmy marmoset, are the smallest of all the primates. Its legs are very sturdy and the tail is not prehensile, but rather is used to maintain balance. The eyes and ears are large, and its coat is dense and woolly, gray or sometimes reddish gray uppermost while paler on the underside. Length of head and body is only four or five inches, and an additional five inches for the tail. It weigh only two to three ounces, varying with the season.
Location: The west, south, and southwest coasts of Madagascar.
Habitat: Arboreal. Damp woodland and grassy, lightly wooded areas.
Behavior: This is a nocturnal animal which sleeps in groups, fairly low in the trees in a nest made of leaves and twigs and lined with fur. It also sleeps in tree hollows. It forages alone, feeding on fruit, flowers, insects, and small animals, which it holds tightly with its front feet. Before the dry season (July through September) it accumulates fat at the base of the tail and in the front legs, which it metabolizes during the three months when food is scarce. The capacity to accumulate fat appears unlimited: captive animals have weighed up to 6 ounces - twice their normal size.
Reproduction: Gestation lasts 54 to 68 days, and a litter consists of two or three young, mostly born after the dry season. The mother sticks them to the sides of her body with her mouth, and carries them about. By the time they are three weeks old they are completely independent.
Go to the Primates Page to learn more about the other man-like animals.
Go to the Index to compare the various lemurs found in America Zoo.
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