White-fronted brown lemur

White-fronted brown lemur

Description

The white-fronted brown lemur (also called the white-fronted lemur) is a medium-sized primate from Madagascar with striking sexual dichromatism. Males have a grey-brown body and a conspicuous white to cream head, white forehead and thick cheek whiskers, while females are uniformly brown with a greyish face and no white markings. Head and body measure about 40 cm, with a bushy tail adding a further 50 cm, and adults weigh around 2 kg. Agile among the branches, it uses its long tail as a rudder when leaping.

Habitat

Endemic to north-eastern Madagascar, where it lives in lowland and mid-altitude rainforest. It is highly arboreal and spends most of its time high in the forest canopy.

Diet

Predominantly frugivorous, feeding mainly on ripe fruit and supplementing this with leaves, flowers, nectar and seeds. It occasionally takes small invertebrates, and by drinking nectar it helps pollinate rainforest plants.

Reproduction

Gestation lasts about 120 days, after which the female usually gives birth to a single infant, occasionally twins. The young are born at the start of the rainy season and are carried first on the mother's belly and later on her back.

Lifespan

In the wild these lemurs live around 20 to 25 years, and individuals in human care can exceed 30 years.

Did you know?

It is cathemeral, active in bouts both day and night depending on the season and moonlight, a rhythm that is unusual among primates.