The island fauna always has its own characteristics. On the islands - in conditions of isolation - such species of plants and animals are often preserved, which on the continents were supplanted by other forms in the course of evolution. Madagascar is no exception.
Madagascar Island is located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. It is the fourth largest skeleton on Earth. There was a hypothesis that the island is a fragment of a sunken ancient continent, on which the ancestors of man originated. This view was shared by such scientists as Charles Darwin, A. Wallace, T. Huxley and even F. Engels.
This hypothesis was not confirmed, but the fauna of Madagascar did not become less interesting from this. Despite the territorial proximity of the island to Africa, its fauna is more similar to the Indian than to the African. But the main living "attraction" of Madagascar is lemurs.
Who are lemurs
The modern biological classification classifies lemurs as wet-nosed primates. Unlike dry-nosed primates, to which humans and monkeys belong, these animals have a wet nose, like cats, the thumb is less opposed to others, and on the middle finger there is an elongated nail with which animals clean their fur.
Apart from extinct animals, there are 7 families of wet-nosed primates, and 5 of them live exclusively in Madagascar. It is they who are united in the infraorder of lemurs.
The word "lemur" itself comes from the Latin language. So the ancient Romans called the souls of the dead, unable to find peace. Animals got this name because of their nocturnal lifestyle, ability to move silently and large "burning" eyes.
This infraorder is diverse. The weight of dwarf lemurs does not exceed 30 g, and the weight of animals from the Indriaceae family reaches 10 kg.
Lemur species
Ring lemurs live in the south and southwest of the island. The name is associated with some external resemblance to cats: a slender body, a long striped tail. In these animals, the tail plays an important role, it helps to keep balance when moving through the trees. The tail of a lemur is an indicator of status in a flock: the higher the status, the higher the animal holds its tail. The population of ring tailed lemurs is growing slowly, because females give birth only once a year, and twins are not born to them more often than to humans.
Another interesting animal is the boar lemur. He looks truly royal: black and white or black and red fur, black muzzle and graceful paws, fluffy "collar" in the neck. But the voice of this creature is not as graceful as its appearance. The cry of a lemur is reminiscent of the laugh of a mentally ill person. Such screams sound especially scary when the whole flock joins one animal. All this is amplified by the mountain echo. This makes an indelible impression on a person who is not used to such "concerts".
A total of 75 species of lemurs that inhabited Madagascar are known, but 17 of them have already disappeared, and this did not happen without human participation. Many species that exist today are also endangered. It remains to be hoped that man will be able to preserve these unique animals that are not found anywhere else except Madagascar.
