Lemur

Lemur is likely refers to their large, reflective eyes and the wailing cries of some species (the Indri in particular). The term is generically used for the members of the five lemur form families, but it is also the genus of one of the lemur form species, the Ring-tailed Lemur .The two so-called flying lemur species, known formally as colugos, are not lemurs or even primates.Lemurs are primates endemic to the island of Madagascar and smaller surrounding islands, such as the Comoros, where they were likely introduced by humans. Molecular genetics indicates that they reached Madagascar after it broke away from mainland Africa, possibly by "rafting" across the ocean on large clumps of vegetation. While their ancestors were displaced in the rest of the world by monkeys and apes, the lemurs were safe from competition on Madagascar and differentiated into a number of species. These range in size from the tiny 30 gram (1 oz) Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur to the 10 kilogram (22 lb) Indri. Larger species, some of which weighed up to 240 kg, have all become extinct since humans settled on Madagascar. Typically, the smaller lemurs are nocturnal, while the larger ones are diurnal