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Eulemur rufus (Audebert, 1799)

Scientific name: 
Scientist name: 
(Audebert, 1799)
Malagasy: 
Varika, Halo
English: 
Rufous Brown Lemur
German: 
Nördlicher Rotstirnmaki
Other english: 
Northern Red-fronted Lemur, Red-fronted Brown Lemur
French: 
Lémur à front roux septentrional
Taxa: 

Species

Identification

Eulemur rufus is a relatively large lemur with a head-body length of 40–48 cm, a tail length of 45–55 cm, an overall length of 85–103 cm, and a mean body weight of around 2 kg (Gerson, 1999). This species is sexually dichromatic. In males, coloration is dark olive-gray with a deep brown tinge above and on the tail, and lighter below. The hands are red. The crown is dark brick-red, the cheek beard golden-red, and the muzzle black with an additional, broad, black midfacial stripe extending from the crown to the nose; the sides of the latter as well as the spots above the eyes are creamy-white. In females, coloration is gingery-red above with an orange underside and a short, golden-red cheek beard. The crown is black, and there are large, gray-white eye and cheek spots (Groves, 2001, 2006). There are no other members of the genus Eulemur throughout much of the range of the species, although there is a small hybrid zone with E. mongoz in northwestern Madagascar (Zaramody and Pastorini, 2001). The only species with which it is likely to be confused (in captivity) is E. rufifrons, with which it was considered conspecific until quite recently (Groves, 2006).