Blue-eyed black lemur
Blauaugenmaki ( Eulemur flaviofrons ), left female, right male
The Blauaugenmaki ( Eulemur flavifrons ), Sclater's Maki also called (after the British zoologist Philip Sclater Lutley ) or Türkisaugenmaki, is a primate of the family of ordinary Makis ( Lemuridae ) within the lemurs ( Lemuriformes ). Previously, he was considered a subspecies of lemurs ( Eulemur macaco as flavifrons ), 2008, he received the status of an independent nature was awarded.
Features
Blauaugenmakis reach a body length 39-45 centimeters, the long, bushy tail measures 51 to 65 inches, and their weight is about 1.8 kg. The gender wise as in Mohrenmaki on a clear Geschlechtsdichromatismus, are so colored very differently. The males are solid black colored, sometimes with a dark brown shimmer. They have a characteristic short hair tuft on the top of the head, in contrast to the lemurs is the coat shorter, softer and the ear tufts are missing. The females are colored red-brown to red-gray at the top, the bottom is white gray, hands and feet are dark gray. The top of the head is red, the face and the muzzle are gray or brown. In contrast to the female lemurs they are generally lighter and the white ear tufts are missing. Named giving feature are the blue or blue-gray eyes; next to the people they are the only primates with this eye color.
Distribution and habitat
Blauaugenmakis inhabit a small area in the northwest of the island of Madagascar, where they occur on the peninsula Sahamalaza and the adjacent mainland regions. There is a small region in which the Blauaugenmaki hybridized with the Mohrenmaki. Habitat of this species is the transition zone between the humid forests in the north and the dry deciduous forests in the south. These primates are relatively adaptable and can also occur in secondary forests and even in plantations.
Way of life
Relatively little is known about the habits of these animals. They usually spend their time on trees and are kathemeral, that is, they have no distinct day - night cycle. The degree of their nocturnal activity is related to the moon's position, in bright moon they are more active. They live in groups of five to seven animals that are led by a dominant female.
Their diet consists primarily of ripe fruit and leaves, next they will also take insects, tree sap, flowers, fungi, and occasionally small vertebrates to himself.
After about 125 days of gestation, the female gives birth August to October usually a single young is born.
Threat and protection
After he had been missing for decades, the Blauaugenmaki was only rediscovered in 1983 by French scientists. One of the main threats of this kind include the destruction of their habitat due to deforestation and shifting cultivation and hunting. Its distribution area covers less than 3000 km ² and is highly fragmented. On the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN the type is defined as " high risk " ( critically endangered ) listed.
The Zoo of Mulhouse, Cologne and Saarbrücken, together with the University of Strasbourg an initiative Association Européenne pour l' Etude et la Conservation of Lemuria ( AEECL ), founded, dedicated to the protection of these lemurs. On the peninsula Sahamalaza an appropriate reserve has been set up, which is scientifically supervised by the AEECL. Under this initiative, scientists at the Cologne Zoo through nutritional and parasite studies. They have built a station that is to be used for research purposes in the long term.
In addition to the protective measures on site, there are also small numbers of animals are kept in zoos. Currently, this collection includes around 55 animals, of which almost 30 in Europe (as of March 2009). The European Endangered Species Programme is coordinated by the Zoo of Mulhouse.