Lemurs are a fun animal and come in many colours. lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. The word "lemur" derives from the word lemures (ghosts or spirits) from Roman mythology and was first used to describe a slender loris due to its nocturnal habits and slow pace, but was later applied to the primates on Madagascar. Although lemurs often are confused with ancestral primates, the anthropoid primates (monkeys, apes, and humans) did not evolve from them; instead, lemurs merely share morphological and behavioral traits with basal primates. Lemurs arrived in Madagascar around 62 to 65 mya by rafting on mats of vegetation at a time when ocean currents favored oceanic dispersal to the island. some history
Lemurs are primates belonging to the suborder Strepsirrhini. Like other strepsirrhine primates, such as lorises, pottos, and galagos, they share ancestral (or plesiomorphic) traits with early primates. In this regard, lemurs are popularly confused with ancestral primates; however, lemurs did not give rise to monkeys and apes (simians). Instead, they evolved independently in isolation on Madagascar.[16] All modern strepsirrhines including lemurs are traditionally thought to have evolved from early primates known as adapiforms during the Eocene (56 to 34 mya) or Paleocene (66 to 56 mya).[16][17][2] Adapiforms, however, lack a specialized arrangement of teeth, known as a toothcomb, which nearly all living strepsirrhines possess.[18][19][20] A more recent hypothesis is that lemurs descended from lorisiform (loris-like) primates. This is supported by comparative studies of the cytochrome b gene and the presence of the strepsirrhine toothcomb in both groups.[20][21] Instead of being the direct ancestors of lemurs, the adapiforms may have given rise to both the lemurs and lorisiforms, a split that would be supported by molecular phylogenetic studies.[20] The later split between lemurs and lorises is thought to have occurred approximately 62 to 65 mya according to molecular studies,[22] although other genetic tests and the fossil record in Africa suggest more conservative estimates of 50 to 55 mya for this divergence.[1] However, the oldest lemur fossils on Madagascar are actually subfossils dating to the Late Pleistocene.
Lemurs are primates belonging to the suborder Strepsirrhini. Like other strepsirrhine primates, such as lorises, pottos, and galagos, they share ancestral (or plesiomorphic) traits with early primates. In this regard, lemurs are popularly confused with ancestral primates; however, lemurs did not give rise to monkeys and apes (simians). Instead, they evolved independently in isolation on Madagascar.[16] All modern strepsirrhines including lemurs are traditionally thought to have evolved from early primates known as adapiforms during the Eocene (56 to 34 mya) or Paleocene (66 to 56 mya).[16][17][2] Adapiforms, however, lack a specialized arrangement of teeth, known as a toothcomb, which nearly all living strepsirrhines possess.[18][19][20] A more recent hypothesis is that lemurs descended from lorisiform (loris-like) primates. This is supported by comparative studies of the cytochrome b gene and the presence of the strepsirrhine toothcomb in both groups.[20][21] Instead of being the direct ancestors of lemurs, the adapiforms may have given rise to both the lemurs and lorisiforms, a split that would be supported by molecular phylogenetic studies.[20] The later split between lemurs and lorises is thought to have occurred approximately 62 to 65 mya according to molecular studies,[22] although other genetic tests and the fossil record in Africa suggest more conservative estimates of 50 to 55 mya for this divergence.[1] However, the oldest lemur fossils on Madagascar are actually subfossils dating to the Late Pleistocene.