"TRUE" LEMURS

Includes ring-tailed lemurs with one species, brown lemurs with seven species, gentle or bamboo lemurs with six species and three subspecies, greater bamboo lemurs with one species, and ruffed lemurs with two species and three subspecies.

LESSER BAMBOO OR GENTLE LEMURS

Genus: Hapalemur

Hapalemur griseus

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

The eastern lesser bamboo lemur, also known as the gray bamboo lemur, the gray gentle lemur, and the Mahajanga lemur, is native to the large island country of Madagascar. Regarded by conservationists as a world biodiversity hot spot—home to species found nowhere else in the world—Madagascar is situated about…

LEARN MORE ABOUT EASTERN LESSER BAMBOO LEMURS

Hapalemur aureus

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Golden bamboo lemurs, bokombolomena in Malagasy, are endemic to Madagascar, where they live in the southeastern bamboo-laden tropical forests and marshes. They occupy lowland and montane forests and they inhabit primary rainforests within a couple different protected areas, such as Ranomafana National Park and…

LEARN MORE ABOUT EASTERN GOLDEN BAMBOO LEMURS

Hapalemur alaotrensis

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

The Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, also known as the Alaotra reed lemur, Alaotran gentle lemur, Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur, or locally as the bandro, is, like all lemurs, endemic to the island of Madagascar. Lac Alaotra gentle lemurs have a very limited range of about 49,000 acres (20,000 ha), found only in the papyrus and reed…

LEARN MORE ABOUT LAC ALAOTRA GENTLE LEMURS

Photo: © Nicolas Roeschli/iNaturalist/Creative Commons

Hapalemur occidentalis

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

Endemic to Madagascar, the Sambirano lesser bamboo lemur, also known as the northern bamboo lemur, western gentle lemur, western grey bamboo lemur, or western lesser bamboo lemur, can be found throughout various forest fragments, primarily in the north and northwestern parts of the island, including the Ankarana…

LEARN MORE ABOUT SAMBIRANO LESSER BAMBOO LEMURS

GREATER BAMBOO LEMURS

Genus: Prolemur

Prolemur simus

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

The greater bamboo lemurs, also known as broad-nosed bamboo lemurs or broad-nosed gentle lemurs, are endemic to Madagascar. This large island, located approximately 250 miles (400 km) off the coast of East Africa, is an important biodiversity hotspot. It is home to numerous animal and plant species that do…

LEARN MORE ABOUT GREATER BAMBOO LEMURS

BROWN LEMURS

Genus: Eulemur

Eulemur macaco

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

Black lemurs are found in northwestern Madagascar, near the Mahavavy River in the north and the Andranomalaza River in the southern part of the region. There are other populations on the islands of Nosy Be and Nosy Komba, and in the coastal forests northeast of Ambanja. Their main habitats are wet evergreen, dry…

LEARN MORE ABOUT BLACK LEMURS

Eulemur macaco

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Blue-eyed black lemurs are found in the northwestern region of Madagascar. They have one of the smallest geographical ranges, limited to the southern part of the Sambirano region. This area is known for having habitats with rainforest and dry deciduous forest-type trees. So these lemurs have adapted to different types of…

LEARN MORE ABOUT BLUE-EYED BLACK LEMURS

Eulemur collaris

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The collared brown lemur, also called the red-collared lemur, is native to the humid forests of the high plateaus in southeastern Madagascar. Their range is bound by the Mananara River to the north, which separates it from the range of the gray-headed lemur (E. cinereiceps), except for a few isolated populations that overlap…

LEARN MORE ABOUT COLLARED BROWN LEMURS

Eulemur fulvus

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

Like all lemurs, brown lemurs are endemic to Madagascar—a country approximately 250 miles (400 km) off the coast of East Africa, and the fourth largest island in the world (it is almost twice the size of Arizona). Because the island has been detached from Africa for 180 million years and is isolated from any other continent, most of…

LEARN MORE ABOUT COMMON BROWN LEMURS

Eulemur coronatus

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The crowned lemur is endemic to Madagascar. They are found nowhere else in the world. In fact, all lemurs are endemic to Madagascar—you will never find one living naturally anywhere else. Crowned lemurs live on the northernmost tip of Madagascar, called Cap d’Ambre, and occur as far south as the Mahavavy River….

LEARN MORE ABOUT CROWNED LEMURS

Eulemur mongoz

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

The mongoose lemur is endemic to the northwestern forests of the island of Madagascar. Much of their habitat consists of dry deciduous forests, fragmented forests, and scrublands. They can also thrive in northwestern Madagascar’s secondary forests. Most plants and animals found in Madagascar are unique to…

LEARN MORE ABOUT MONGOOSE LEMURS

Eulemur rufus

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

The red brown lemur resides in northern Madagascar and has been seen from the Betsiboka River to the Tsiribihina River. Because of the rapid habitat loss that Madagascar—and all the lemurs living there—is facing, they occur in patch-work distribution. They occur in the still-existing forests from the Betsiboka to… 

LEARN MORE ABOUT RED BROWN LEMURS

Eulemur rubriventer

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

The red-bellied lemur is a species of Eulemur endemic to Madagascar. This primate inhabits a long, narrow strip of intact primary and secondary rainforest along the island’s eastern coast. While the red-bellied lemur’s distribution is not well-documented, populations are found at high altitudes in Tsaratanana Massif at…

LEARN MORE ABOUT RED-BELLIED LEMURS

Eulemur rufifrons

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

The red-fronted brown lemur, sometimes called simply the red-fronted lemur, is found in dry, tropical forests in western Madagascar and moist lowland and montane forest in eastern Madagascar. In western Madagascar, it is found between the Tsiribihina River in the north and the Fiherenana River in the south…

LEARN MORE ABOUT RED-FRONTED BROWN LEMURS

Photo: Charles J Sharp/Creative Commons

Eulemur sanfordi

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The Sanford’s brown lemuralso known as Sanford’s lemur, is one of many terrestrial lemur species endemic to the island country of Madagascar, located about 250 miles (402 kilometers) east of Africa’s southern tip. Endemism, the state of a species only being found in a single defined geographic location, is reflected… 

LEARN MORE ABOUT SANFORD’S BROWN LEMURS

Photo credit: © Julian Mr.Lemur/iNaturalist/Creative Commons

Eulemur cinereiceps

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

The white-collared lemur, also called the white-collared brown lemur or the gray-headed lemur, is endemic to a thin strip of tropical lowland and montane forest in southeastern Madagascar, from the Manampatrana River south to the Mananara River. They have one of the most restricted ranges of all the true lemurs, and only about 270 square mi (700 square km) of habitat remains. Madagascar’s forest is…

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHITE-COLLARED LEMURS

Eulemur albifrons

CONSERVATION STATUS: VULNERABLE

The white-fronted lemur, whose aliases include white-fronted brown lemur, white-headed lemur, and white-headed brown lemur, is native to the large island country of Madagascar—the only place in the world where these primates exist in the wild. Located in the Indian Ocean approximately 250 mi (400 km) off the coast of East…

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHITE-FRONTED LEMURS

RING TAILED LEMUR

Genus: Lemur

Lemur catta

CONSERVATION STATUS: ENDANGERED

The ring-tailed lemur is endemic to the island country of Madagascar, the only place wild ring-tailed lemurs can be found. Their territory lies in the southern region. They are highly adaptable to different ecosystems, particularly the area’s spiny forests, gallery forests, and dry deciduous forests. That being said, ring-tailed lemurs tend…

LEARN MORE ABOUT RING-TAILED LEMURS

RUFFED LEMURS

Genus: Varecia

Varecia variegata

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Endemic to Madagascar, black-and-white ruffed lemurs can be found living in lowland (altitudes under 3280 feet / 1000 m) to mid-altitude rain forests on the eastern side of the island. Their northernmost documented boundary is the Antainambalana River, with its southernmost extent being the Ambalavera…

LEARN MORE ABOUT BLACK AND WHITE RUFFED LEMURS

Varecia rubra

CONSERVATION STATUS: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

The red ruffed lemur, like all lemurs, is native to the island nation of Madagascar off of Africa’s southeast coast. They are found only in the Masoala Peninsula, which includes Masoala National Park—Madagascar’s largest protected area—and the region immediately north of the Bay of Antongil, in northeastern Madagascar…

LEARN MORE ABOUT RED RUFFED LEMURS