Sounds… cute. What is it?
The hairy-eared
dwarf lemur (
Allocebus trichotis) is one of the world’s smallest
primates, weighing between 3.0 and 3.6
ounces and measuring one
foot in length. Its body is a brownish gray, with a white-gray belly and a reddish-brown tail. It has short ears with tufts of long hair in front and inside the ear. Its eyes are set in the front of the face, and are considerably larger than those of other lemurs, giving them
stereoscopic vision as well as excellent
night vision.
Thought to be extinct until 1966, the estimated world population resides in the neighborhood of 100 to 1000 individuals. In 2000, the IUCN relegated the hairy-eared dwarf lemur from Critically Endangered to Endangered status. Its territory is the lowland rainforest of Madagascar, where it makes nests of fresh leaves in holes in living or dead trees, approximately ten to fifteen feet off the ground.
Okay, so it’s a monkey. What does it eat, and what eats it?
The exact diet of the hairy-eared dwarf lemur is unknown, although it probably eats fresh leaves and fruit. Because of its sharp claws and teeth and long tongue, it has been suggested that it may eat plant gum and/or nectar as well.
The hairy-eared dwarf lemur is caught in traps and eaten by local inhabitants, and although some effort has been made to educate people about its endangered status, it continues to be hunted for meat. This, in addition to deforestation and logging, are the major contributing factors in its endangered status.
So what kind of monkey mating rituals does it have?
Not a lot is known about the hairy-eared dwarf lemur’s mating habits, although the gestation period is assumed to be about two months, with the mother giving birth to two to three young. Sexual maturity occurs in seven to nineteen months in a male, and ten to twenty-nine months in a female, with an average lifespan of about fifteen years in captivity. They are usually found in mating pairs (one male, one female), although as many as six have been observed together at one time.
And now, the cool Latin stuff!
The taxonomic classification for the hairy-eared dwarf lemur is as follows:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primata
Family: Cheirogaleidae
Genus: Allocebus
Sources:
http://www.animalinfo.org/species/primate/allotric.htm
http://www.szgdocent.org/pp/p-lmdwf.htm
http://www.press.jhu.edu/books/walkers_mammals_of_the_world/primates/primates.cheirogaleidae.allocebus.html