LEMURS AT DUKE LEMUR CENTER
Lemurs are a unique group of primates native to Madagascar, an island off the coast of east Africa. Although they are related to monkeys and apes, lemurs make up a separate branch of the primate family tree and are classified as a superfamily, made up of five individual lemur families and more than 100 different species. Founded in 1966 on the campus of Duke University in Durham, NC, the Duke Lemur Center is a world leader in the study, care, and protection of lemurs—Earth’s most threatened group of mammals. The Duke Lemur Center houses the world’s largest and most diverse population of lemurs outside their native Madagascar.
		How many male and female lemurs are housed at Duke Lemur Center? NB: Darker shade indicates number of current residents.	How do male and female lemurs grow as they age? NB: Average across all male and female lemurs recorded.
	Ring-tailed lemur Lemur catta Ring-tailed lemurs are the most intensely studied of all the lemurs. They’re also the most easily recognizable species of lemur, and the most common primates in human care.
	Gray mouse lemur Mircocebus murinus Since they are so small and require fewer resources than other lemurs, mouse lemurs have adapted well to disturbed forests in Madagascar and are one of the most widespread and abundant lemur species.
	Fat-tailed dwarf lemur Cheirogaleus medius The fat-tailed dwarf lemur is the only primate in the world known to hibernate for an extended period of time. Hibernation can last up to seven months and heart rate can drop from about 180 bpm to as low as 8.
	Eulemur hybrid Eulemur Eulemur hybrid lemurs (brown lemur hybrids) are hybrids from different species of brown lemurs. At Berenty Reserve in Madagascar, the collared brown lemurs have been hybridized with the red lemur.
	Black-and-white ruffed lemur Varecia variegata variegata Female ruffed lemurs give birth to litters of infants. Unlike other lemurs whose infants cling to their bellies or backs, ruffed lemurs “park” their infants in nests while foraging.
	Coquerel's sifaka Propithecus coquereli The sifaka of Madagascar are distinguished from other lemurs by their vertical clinging and leaping mode of locomotion: these animals maintain a distinctly vertical posture.
	Red ruffed lemur Varecia rubra Weighing up to nine pounds, red-ruffed lemurs are among the largest living lemurs and the largest pollinators in the world: as they feed, pollen sticks to the ruffs of fur around their faces and gets transported from tree to tree.
	Northern greater galago Otolemur garnettii garnettii The northern greater galago is also known as Garnett's greater galago due to its large body size relative to other galagos. During the day, they sleep alone in trees and emerge at night.
	Red-fronted brown lemur Eulemur rufus Red-fronted lemurs are one of the few lemur species that are not female dominant. As the group moves through the forest, they stay together by way of a regular series of grunts and contact calls.
	Mongoose lemur Eulemur mongoz Mongoose lemurs live in the dry, deciduous forest of Madagascar which means they have to be flexible enough to contend with 6 month periods of limited to no rainfall.
	Blue-eyed black lemur Eulemur flavifrons Blue-eyed black lemurs are among the most threatened primates in the world. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently elevated their status to critically endangered.
	Black lemur Eulemur macaco Black lemurs are distinguished from blue-eyed black lemurs by their brown or orange eyes, and ear tufts. Like their blue-eyed relatives, black lemurs live in northwest Madagascar.
	Northern giant mouse lemur Mirza coquereli Northern giant mouse lemurs small lemurs with long, bushy tails and relatively small ears. Until 2005, both populations of giant mouse lemurs were believed to belong to one species.
	Slow loris Nycticebus coucang Lorises generally sleep curled up in a ball, with their heads tucked up under their arms. When they move, they do so with slow deliberate hand-over-hand movements.
	Crowned lemur Eulemur coronatus Crowned lemurs are named for the triangular, crown-like patch of fur on their foreheads.  Until recently, crowned lemurs were thought to be a sub-species of the mongoose lemur.
	Collared brown lemur Eulemur collaris Red-collared brown lemurs, also called collared lemurs, are found in coastal forests in southeastern Madagascar. Unlike most species of lemur which are female dominant, collared lemurs are co-dominant.
	Pygmy slow loris Nycticebus pygmaeus Lorises have a tail either very short or completely absent, and their heads and eyes are round, with small ears which are almost completely hidden by fur.
	Eastern lesser bamboo lemur Hapalemur griseus griseus Eastern lesser bamboo lemurs appear to have greater manual dexterity and superior hand-eye coordination than other lemurs. More than likely this is due to their preference for small but tasty bamboo shoots.
	Mohol bushbaby Galago moholi Bush babies, or galagos, are small, nocturnal primates which range in size from cat-sized to mouse-sized. They are found in the forests and woodlands of Africa south of the Sahara.
	Slender loris Loris tardigradus All lorises have extremely strong fingers and toes, and they are capable of maintaining a powerful grip with either hands or feet for astonishingly long periods of time.
	Common brown lemur Eulemur fulvus Until 2001, five additional currently recognized species of lemur were considered subspecies of common brown lemurs. Male and female common brown lemurs have very similar markings.
	Aye-aye Daubentonia madagascariensis Due to its bizarre appearance and unusual feeding habits, the aye-aye is considered by many to be the strangest primate in the world. It is the world’s largest nocturnal primate.
	Varecia hybrid Varecia Varecia hybrids (hybrid ruffed lemurs) are characterised by their ruffed collar. Ruffed lemurs both in captivity and in the wild have demonstrated a variety of social structures from pairs to large groups.
	Red-bellied lemur Eulemur rubriventer Male red-bellied lemurs have a red-brown fur color and white tear-drop shapes around their eyes while females have red-brown fur on the back and sides with white fur on the undersides and little white around the eyes.
	Sanford's brown lemur Eulemur sanfordi Sanford’s brown lemurs are named after Leonard Cutler Sanford, a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History. They are considered to be endangered, and among the rarest of the brown lemurs.
	Potto Perodicticus potto In some parts of Africa, pottos are called softly-softlys. Variation among pottos is significant, prompting speculation that there may be more than one species.
	White-fronted brown lemur Eulemur albifrons White-fronted brown lemurs are found only in north-eastern Madagascar. They inhabit three national parks and two special reserves. They were formerly recognised as a subspecies of the common brown lemur.
* Table created by N. Rennie for the 2022 Posit Table Contest in November 2022. ** Images used are licensed under Creative Commons licences. See github.com/nrennie/2022-table-contest for details. *** Data originally from lemur.duke.edu and can be accessed on GitHub at github.com/rfordatascience/tidytuesday/blob/master/data/2021/2021-08-24.