Lemurs
comprise 40 species of prosimians,
or pre-monkeys. Many eons ago, lemurs were in all the warm forests
of the world, but they were eventually driven almost to extinction
by the true monkeys. Now they only live in one place: the island
of Madagascar, off the African coast.
Lemurs come
in all shapes and sizes. The pygmy mouse lemur weighs 1 oz. and
is only 8 in. in length, including the tail! The indri, on the other
hand, is about 2.5 ft. tall and weighs 15 to 22 lb.
Some lemurs
are strict vegetarians, while others supplement their diet with
insects, small frogs, birds, lizards, and bird eggs.
.
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to Species Index
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PRIMATE
SPECIES: Lemur Monkey
