Lemurs are confined to the forests of Madagascar and the Comoros Islands, mostly arboreal, and some are mainly terrestrial. Madagascar, which originated in Africa, was the last sanctuary for lemurs, but the island, the primate with beautiful big eyes, has disappeared from the rest of the planet. The evolutionary time of this mysterious creature has long been a mystery. The island they inhabit, Madagascar, separated from the African continent about 145 million years ago, far before the placental mammals. time of origin. So the ancestors of lemurs must have appeared on Madagascar recently, but how to accurately calculate the landing time of lemurs is a very difficult problem. What is baffling is that the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and fossil analyses give contradictory data on lemur pedigrees. By comparing the genetic mutations lemurs have with those of their closest continental cousins, loris and African night monkeys, these primates share a common Ancestors who lived between 60 million and 65 million years ago.

Lemur

as a primate One of the oldest members of the genus, lemurs retain their most primitive properties, appearing earlier than their close relatives, the monkeys. Lemurs are animals that have truly survived from prehistory. In the late dinosaur age, this primate lived in the world. At that time, lemurs ruled almost all subtropical forests. With the passage of time and the great changes of vicissitudes, the lemur has almost completely disappeared from the earth, and it can only be found in the inaccessible mountains and jungles of Madagascar.

Lemurs appeared in the Late Paleocene and Early Eocene about 58 million years ago, and some other primates appeared later, in the Ocene about 37 million years ago. World. The primitive state of these animals is very similar to that of rodents, said biologist Montserrat Ponza, spokesman for the Spanish Society for Primate Research.

From 37 million years ago, lemurs Gradually heading towards extinction, including some rather large species. Only about 40 species of lemurs of medium and smaller size survive.

Lemurs are at a relatively primitive stage of evolution, so their appearance is also very peculiar. The mouse lemur, for example, moves surprisingly slowly and cautiously, with huge ears and very large eyes, occupying half the length of its face, with a firm and keen gaze. The nasal cavity is also surprisingly large. This is undoubtedly an unforgettable image. This shape is not designed to make people feel fearful, but fully demonstrates that in order to survive, its organs for obtaining information already have extraordinary functions.

The nocturnal habit of mouse lemurs stimulates the development of the retinal pigment layer, a reflective layer behind the retina that doubles the lemur's vision. At the same time, the auditory organs that can capture ultrasonic waves are also relatively developed. Because of its extraordinary perception ability, the mouse lemur can suddenly stretch out its two front paws in a moment and grab the moth flying in the air when it is still. Of course, it was in total darkness.

One of the most striking lemurs is the aye-aye. Only found in northern Madagascar. The size of the aye-aye is like a cat, it is solitary and nocturnal, and it has 4 incisors similar to rodents. In fact, after the discovery of the aye-aye, people used to keep it with the squirrel in the zoo. It looks like a mouse that has stayed up all night. The fur is coarse, between dark brown and red, surrounding its pale face. Purple eyes with obvious dark circles, his eyes seem firm and blurry. He moved slowly and hard between the branches. The middle finger of the aye-aye is different from other fingers, it is thin and long, like a sequelae of polio. Not surprisingly, the local aboriginal people are startled by its gaze when they bump into the aye-aye head-on. Because of this, the mild-tempered, nocturnal aye-aye became the protagonist of horror legends and gradually turned into a villain. The locals even said that anything touched by the slender middle finger of the aye-aye would die immediately, and the aye-aye became the target of people's pursuit. Coupled with the destruction of its living environment by human deforestation, the aye-aye has become one of the most critically endangered species on the planet.

Actually, the long third finger of the aye-aye is an evolutionary need to adapt to the environment. With this tool, the aye-aye can go deep into small burrows in tree trunks, find insect larvae discovered by its keen sense of hearing and smell, and fill its stomach. There are also some lemurs that are not hostile, but are very popular. Most of them are relatively large lemurs, which are easy to spot due to their large size and daytime activity.

They are gentle ghosts of the Madagascar rainforest that feed on fruit and don't care about anything other than contact with their families. They are the most familiar members of the lemur family, and when these lemurs move through the jungle, it's not easy to tell them apart from ordinary monkeys. These lemurs, which are larger than their counterparts in size and weight, spend more time on the ground.