Red lemur

Red lemur[1]
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Family:	Lemuridae
Genus:	Eulemur
Species:	E. rufus
Binomial name
Eulemur rufus (Audebert, 1799)
Red lemur range

The red lemur (Eulemur rufus), also known as the rufous brown lemur or northern red-fronted lemur, is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, the species E. rufus was considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur, E. fulvus,^[3] after which it was classified as its own species. In December 2008, the species was split into two separate species, the red lemur, E. rufus, distributed in dry lowland forests in northwestern Madagascar, and the red-fronted lemur, E. rufifrons, distributed in southwest and eastern Madagascar.^[1] The species split was based on genetic and morphological evidence.^[1] Mitochondrial DNA analysis indicates that E. rufifrons may be more closely related to the Common Brown Lemur (E. fulvus), white-headed lemur (E. albifrons) and Sanford's brown lemur (E. sanfordi) than it is to E. rufus.^[1]

The red lemur's range covers dry deciduous forests in southwestern Madagascar between the Betsiboka River to the north and the Tsiribihina River to the south.^[1][2][4] The Tsiribihina River froms the boundary between E. rufus, which lives north of the river, and E. rufifrons, which lives south of the river.^[1] It has a head and body length of 35 to 48 centimetres (14 to 19 in) and with a 45 to 55 centimetres (18 to 22 in) tail.^[4] Its weight ranges between 2.2 and 2.3 kilograms (4.9 and 5.1 lb). It has a gray coat and black face, muzzle and forehead, plus a black line from the muzzle to the forehead, with white eyebrow patches.^[4] Males have white or cream colored cheeks and beards, while females have rufous or cream cheeks and beards that are less bushy than males.^[4]

The species is currently listed by the IUCN as Data Deficient, pending additional information on its population status. Nearly all previous E. rufus populations on which studies have been performed are now assigned to the species E. rufufrons, the red-fronted lemur.^[2] However, given that threats are most likely operating within the now more-confined range of Eulemur rufus, it is likely that this species will require listing as Near Threatened or Vulnerable once additional information becomes available.^[2] The most important threats to the species are likely to be hunting, as well as habitat destruction resulting from slash-and-burn agriculture, clearing of land for pasture, and logging.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Mittermeier, R., Ganzhorn, J., Konstant, W., Glander, K., Tattersall, I., Groves, C., Rylands, A., Hapke, A., Ratsimbazafy, J., Mayor, M., Louis, E., Rumpler, Y., Schwitzer, C. & Rasoloarison, R. (December 2008). "Lemur Diversity in Madagascar". International Journal of Primatology 29 (6): 1607–1656. doi:10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Hoffmann, M. (2008). Eulemur rufus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 07 October 2008.
3. ^ Groves, C. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M, eds. ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 116. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=12100046. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Mittermeier, R., Louis, E., et al. (2006). Lemurs of Madagascar (Second ed.). Conservation International. pp. 275–277. ISBN 1-881173-88-7.