---
title: "What the sources say about the Aye-Aye | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "47 claims from the Aye-Aye profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/aye-aye-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/aye-aye/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Aye-Aye (*Daubentonia madagascariensis*)

> 47 claims from the Aye-Aye profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Aye-Aye](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/aye-aye/)

## Aye-aye. Duke Lemur Center.

https://lemur.duke.edu/discover/meet-the-lemurs/aye-aye/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Nocturnal lemur | Social structure: solitary, nocturnal forager (note: tagline; Duke calls its aye-ayes 'these rare and amazing lemurs') |
| huge ears | Cupping their huge ears forward, the aye-aye listens intently to the echoing sounds coming from the tapped tree (note: tagline) |
| ever-growing incisors | incisors that are continually growing (unique among primates) (note: tagline; ADW's own phrase is 'large and ever-growing') |
| skeletal-looking middle finger that finds grubs by tapping | a middle finger which is skeletal in appearance ... the animals have evolved a specialized method for locating the larvae, called tap foraging (note: tagline) |
| along Madagascar's east coast and in its northwestern forests | distributed along the east coast and in the northwestern forests of Madagascar |
| Almost entirely invertebrates, especially insect larvae living inside trees, with some nuts and seeds | The aye-aye's diet is highly specialized, consisting almost entirely of invertebrates with some nuts and seeds ... a significant percentage of an aye-aye's diet consists of insect larvae that dwell inside dead or living trees |
| known to raid coconut, lychee, and mango plantations | The animals are also known to raid coconut, lychee, and mango plantations |
| Tap foraging: it taps wood rapidly with its middle finger, listens for the echo of an insect tunnel, then hooks the larva out with that slender, flexible finger | As they walk along a branch, the animals continuously and rapidly tap it with their middle finger. Cupping their huge ears forward, the aye-aye listens intently to the echoing sounds coming from the tapped tree. When the sound indicates they are above an insect tunnel ... the aye-aye inserts its slender and highly flexible third finger into the hole, and when the prey is located, it is hooked with the tip of the finger and removed (note: third finger = middle finger) |
| Aye-ayes are nocturnal, solitary foragers who spend up to 80% of the night feeding and traveling through the forest canopy | Aye-ayes are nocturnal, solitary foragers who spend up to 80% of the night feeding and traveling through the forest canopy |
| A significant share of their diet is insect larvae (grubs) living inside dead or living trees, and they have evolved a specialized way of finding them, called tap foraging | a significant percentage of an aye-aye's diet consists of insect larvae that dwell inside dead or living trees, the animals have evolved a specialized method for locating the larvae, called tap foraging |
| Walking along a branch, an aye-aye taps the wood continuously and rapidly with its middle finger | As they walk along a branch, the animals continuously and rapidly tap it with their middle finger |
| It cups its huge ears forward and listens closely to the echoes coming from the tapped tree | Cupping their huge ears forward, the aye-aye listens intently to the echoing sounds coming from the tapped tree |
| When the sound shows it is above an insect tunnel, the aye-aye tears off enormous chunks of bark with its teeth | When the sound indicates they are above an insect tunnel, the animals begin to tear off enormous chunks of the outer bark with their impressive teeth (note: 'impressive teeth' shortened to 'teeth'; 'outer bark' to 'bark') |
| Then it slides that slender, highly flexible finger into the hole and hooks the grub out with the fingertip | the aye-aye inserts its slender and highly flexible third finger into the hole, and when the prey is located, it is hooked with the tip of the finger and removed |
| Aye-ayes are the world's largest nocturnal primate, at around 38 centimetres long, with a fluffy tail that is longer than their bodies | They are the world's largest nocturnal primate at around 15 inches long (38 cm) with a fluffy tail that is longer than their bodies |
| An adult weighs 2.5 to 2.8 kilograms | Adult size: 5.5 - 6.2 lbs. (2.5 - 2.8 kg) (note: Duke (current) preferred over ADW 2570-2615 g and AnAge 2,278 g) |
| Their fingers are long, and the third finger is thinner than the others | Their fingers are long and their third finger is thinner than the others |
| An aye-aye's incisors (front teeth) are continually growing, which the Duke Lemur Center calls unique among primates | incisors that are continually growing (unique among primates) |
| The Duke Lemur Center describes the aye-aye's diet as highly specialized, made up almost entirely of invertebrates with some nuts and seeds | The aye-aye's diet is highly specialized, consisting almost entirely of invertebrates with some nuts and seeds |
| Aye-ayes are also known to raid coconut, lychee and mango plantations | The animals are also known to raid coconut, lychee, and mango plantations |
| They live along Madagascar's east coast and in its northwestern forests | distributed along the east coast and in the northwestern forests of Madagascar |
| The aye-aye's population is not dense, so seeing one in the wild is incredibly rare | as the population is not dense, seeing one in the wild remains incredibly rare |
| The main threats to its survival are habitat loss and hunting | The main threats to the survival of the aye-aye are loss of habitat and hunting pressure |
| Its bizarre appearance has traditionally led many villagers to regard the aye-aye as an evil omen, or fady, that must be killed on sight to avoid bringing bad luck onto an entire village | their bizarre appearance has traditionally led many villagers to regard the animal as an evil omen, or fady , which must be killed on sight to avoid bringing bad luck onto an entire village |
| Aye-ayes are also sometimes killed as crop-threatening pests in agricultural areas | aye-ayes are sometimes killed as crop-threatening pests in agricultural areas |
| By tapping. Walking along a branch, the aye-aye taps the wood continuously and rapidly with its middle finger, then cups its huge ears forward and listens to the echoes | As they walk along a branch, the animals continuously and rapidly tap it with their middle finger. Cupping their huge ears forward, the aye-aye listens intently to the echoing sounds coming from the tapped tree |
| When the sound shows it is above an insect tunnel, it tears off chunks of bark with its teeth, slides its slender, flexible third finger into the hole and hooks the larva out with the fingertip | When the sound indicates they are above an insect tunnel, the animals begin to tear off enormous chunks of the outer bark with their impressive teeth. Then the aye-aye inserts its slender and highly flexible third finger into the hole, and when the prey is located, it is hooked with the tip of the finger and removed |
| Yes. An aye-aye's incisors (front teeth) are continually growing, which the Duke Lemur Center calls unique among primates | incisors that are continually growing (unique among primates) |
| When tapping finds an insect tunnel, the aye-aye uses its teeth to tear off enormous chunks of bark | When the sound indicates they are above an insect tunnel, the animals begin to tear off enormous chunks of the outer bark with their impressive teeth |
| Their bizarre appearance has traditionally led many villagers to regard the aye-aye as an evil omen, or fady, that must be killed on sight to avoid bringing bad luck onto an entire village | their bizarre appearance has traditionally led many villagers to regard the animal as an evil omen, or fady , which must be killed on sight to avoid bringing bad luck onto an entire village |
| Aye-ayes are also sometimes killed as crop-threatening pests in agricultural areas | aye-ayes are sometimes killed as crop-threatening pests in agricultural areas |

## Daubentonia madagascariensis (aye-aye). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Daubentonia_madagascariensis/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Rainforest, deciduous forest, and cultivated plantations | primary and secondary rainforest, deciduous forest, cultivated plantations |
| only their front surface has a coat of enamel | The incisors are large and ever-growing, with enamel coating only the anterior surface (note: anterior = front; 'hard' is the definition of enamel, not a claim) |
| in rainforest, deciduous forest and cultivated plantations | primary and secondary rainforest, deciduous forest, cultivated plantations |

## Sterling et al. (1994). Dietary Intake, Food Composition and Nutrient Intake in Wild and Captive Populations of Daubentonia madagascariensis. Folia Primatologica.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000156768

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A study published in 1994 found that one wild population ate four main food types: seeds, nectar, fungus and insect larvae | Data are presented on dietary and nutrient intake in a wild population of aye-ayes. Study animals ate 4 main food types: seeds, nectar, fungus and insect larvae (note: abstract only; scoped to the one studied population; the year is the reference's publication year) |

## Soligo (2005). Anatomy of the Hand and Arm in Daubentonia madagascariensis: A Functional and Phylogenetic Outlook. Folia Primatologica.

https://doi.org/10.1159/000088034

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| According to a 2005 anatomy study, this middle finger is no longer used for moving around | The specialised middle finger is no longer used in locomotion (note: abstract only; 2005 is the reference's publication year) |
| It works as a probe for finding and pulling out wood-boring larvae, and its phalanges (finger bones) can move both at great speed and independently of each other | serves as a probe-like instrument for investigating, locating and extracting xylophagous (wood-boring) larvae as well as other food items. Its phalanges can be moved both at great speed and independently of each other (note: abstract only) |

## Melin et al. (2012). Why Aye-Ayes See Blue. American Journal of Primatology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.21996

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Some nocturnal primates are colorblind because a gene for a light-sensing pigment, called SWS1, has stopped working | Some species are colorblind, having lost the functionality of their short-wavelength-sensitive-1 (SWS1) opsin pigment gene |
| In the aye-aye that gene is intact | In other species, such as the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), the SWS1 gene remains intact |
| its pigment is most sensitive to light with a wavelength of 406 nanometres, closer to ultraviolet than in most primates | the pigment has a peak sensitivity (lambda(max)) of 406 nm, which is -20 nm closer to the ultraviolet region of the spectrum than in most primates (note: keeps the comparison, not the ~20 nm magnitude) |
| A 2012 study reported that twilight is rich in bluish light, and that twilight and full moonlight are probably bright enough for color vision | report that twilight is enriched in short-wavelength (bluish) light. We also show that the intensity of twilight and full moonlight is probably sufficient to support cone-mediated color vision (note: the year is the reference's publication year) |
| The researchers speculate that the gene is an adaptation for twilight, and point to possible blue targets such as scent marks and the brilliant blue arils (seed coverings) of the Ravenala plant | We speculate that the intact SWS1 opsin pigment gene of aye-ayes is a crepuscular adaptation and we report on the blueness of potential visual targets, such as scent marks and the brilliant blue arils of Ravenala madagascariensis (note: crepuscular = twilight) |
| Possibly, at twilight or under a full moon | the intensity of twilight and full moonlight is probably sufficient to support cone-mediated color vision |
| Some nocturnal primates are colorblind, but the aye-aye's SWS1 pigment gene is intact, with peak sensitivity at 406 nanometres, closer to ultraviolet than in most primates | Some species are colorblind, having lost the functionality of their short-wavelength-sensitive-1 (SWS1) opsin pigment gene. In other species, such as the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), the SWS1 gene remains intact ... the pigment has a peak sensitivity (lambda(max)) of 406 nm, which is -20 nm closer to the ultraviolet region of the spectrum than in most primates |
| A 2012 study found that twilight and full moonlight are probably bright enough to support color vision | the intensity of twilight and full moonlight is probably sufficient to support cone-mediated color vision (note: the year is the reference's publication year) |

## Daubentonia madagascariensis. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, 2023.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Daubentonia_madagascariensis

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The AnAge longevity database lists a maximum lifespan of 32.3 years, for a captive aye-aye reported by the Duke Lemur Center | Maximum longevity 32.3 years (captivity) ... The Duke Lemur center reported a captive specimen aged 32.3 years (note: AnAge Build 15 (2023); Duke page states no longevity) |

## Louis et al. (2020). Daubentonia madagascariensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T6302A115560793.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-2.rlts.t6302a115560793.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN Red List assesses the species as Endangered | IUCN Red List category: Endangered (EN) (note: read through GBIF's copy of the Red List per docs/fact-check.md) |