Happy Halloleem!
4 years ago
Bats, rats and lemurs? Oh my!
Lemurs are an excellent addition for Halloween!
The word lemur is derived from the Latin “lemures”, which refers to specters or ghosts that were exorcised during the Lemurian Festival of ancient Rome. Although the term "lemur" was first intended for slender lorises, it was soon limited to the Malagasy primates, which have been known as "lemurs" ever since. The name was selected because of the nocturnal activity and slow movements of the slender loris.
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Naturally we can’t forget the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis!)
Aye-aye are the largest nocturnal primate with an elusive extended distribution all across the eastern coast of Madagascar. Its suitable habitat is rainforest or deciduous forests. While the aye-aye may appear “creepy” they’re anything but scary. Unfortunately, their looks attract trouble and are frequently considered as a harbinger of evil. Others believe, if one points its narrowest finger at someone, they are marked for death. The appearance of an aye-aye in a village predicts the death of a villager, and the only way to prevent this is to execute it.
Aye-aye are an incredibly unique species of lemur. With their rodentlike incisors and hooked sublingua, spheroid jointed middle finger, large bat ears for echolocating insects AND a hidden sixth pseudo thumb to aid in gripping...there's not an animal like it!
The aye-aye uses two specialized fingers that work together! The third and the fourth digits are utilized in various activities. The thin third finger is used preferably for tapping, inserting into the mouth and probing for nectar. When probing for invertebrates, both fingers are used. The third finger seems to work in tasks requiring high mobility, sensitivity and precision, whereas the fourth finger appears to be specialized for strength, scooping action and deep access.
With recent studies, the aye-aye may have transformed the way we know about lemur evolution! Scientists discovered a misidentified fossil dating only 20 million years. There's insufficient evidence that lemurs may have evolved not one, but TWICE! However, as stated, there are not enough data to back up the study at this time, for now what we recognize is how lemurs traditionally evolved on Madagascar.
Aye-aye articles to read:
• New Study Looks at Evolution of Aye-Aye
• Enigmatic African fossils rewrite story of when lemurs got to Madagascar
• Scientists discover why elusive aye-aye developed such unusual features
• New discovery: Madagascar’s bizarre aye-aye has six fingers on each hand
• Hand and foot pressures in the aye-aye reveal novel biomechanical trade-offs required for walking on gracile digits
• Aye-aye population genomic analyses highlight an important center of endemism in northern Madagascar
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