Family Cheirogaleidae

*The picture is of Cheirogaleus medius taken from the Duke Primate Center web site

Family Cheirogaleidae

a. Microcebus murinus (gray mouse lemur) and M. rufus(brown mouse lemur)

b. Mirza coquereli (Coquerel’s dwarf lemur)

c. Cheirogaleus medius (fat tailed dwarf lemur) and C. major (greater dwarf lemur)

both arboreal quadrupeds
both have pointed snouts and moderate size ears
frugivorous[3] and eat small amounts of other
hibernate for 6 to 8 months (store fat in tails)

d. Phaner furcifer (fork-marked lemur)
dark rings around eyes which join at top of skull to form a line down back
large membranous ears
long limbs and a very long bushy tail
specialize on eating gum
very large hands and feet with extended digital pads
fingernails keeled like claws
procumbent incisors, above and below, long canines and anterior upper premolars
long narrow tongue
rapid quadrupedalism and leaping

e. Allocebus trichotis (hairy-eared dwarf lemur)
tympanic region is fused to wall of bulla
only a few extant specimens
keeled nails on digits

[1] Arboreal – living in trees.

[2] Faunivorous – an animal that eats invertebrates and small vertebrates.

[3] Frugivorous – an animal that feeds primarily on fruit.