---
title: "What the sources say about the Ring-Tailed Lemur | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "36 claims from the Ring-Tailed Lemur profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Ring-Tailed Lemur (*Lemur catta*)

> 36 claims from the Ring-Tailed Lemur profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Ring-Tailed Lemur](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/ring-tailed-lemur/)

## Baumhofer (2017). Lemur catta (ring-tailed lemur). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lemur_catta/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Every female outranks every male: even the lowest-ranking female ranks higher than the highest-ranking male | All females are dominant over all males. The lowest ranking female is still higher in the social hierarchy than the highest ranking male. |
| The body is 39 to 46 centimeters long | Ring-tailed lemurs have a body length ranging from 39 to 46 cm in length |
| Fossas, snakes, and birds of prey hunt ring-tailed lemurs | Predatory pressure can come from raptor birds, fossas (Cryptoprocta ferox), civets (Civettictis civetta), domestic cats (Felis catus), snakes, and brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus). (note: civets dropped: ADW's binomial is the African civet, which does not live in Madagascar; 'birds of prey' renders 'raptor birds') |
| traveling as a troop helps deter predators that pick off lone animals | Ring-tailed lemurs travel in groups, known as troops, to deter predators that hunt singular prey. |
| Gallery forests, dry scrub, and deciduous forest in southern and south-western Madagascar | Ring-tailed lemurs are found only in southern and southwestern Madagascar. They prefer gallery forests, forests near and following the riverbanks, but can be found in dry scrub, montane humid forests, and deciduous forests. |

## Ring-tailed lemur. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/ring-tailed-lemur

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a horny spur on each wrist gland that he uses to pierce tree branches before marking them | Males even have a horny spur on each wrist gland that they use to pierce tree branches before scent marking them. (note: source's plural 'they/them' rendered as singular 'he/them' for the sentence's subject) |
| Females also get first access to food and their choice of mates, which is unusual for a primate | Females are dominant within groups, meaning females have preferential access to food and choice of whom to mate with. This is unusual in the primate world. (note: final pass: 'first pick of ... mates' was stronger than 'choice of whom to mate with') |
| The ranking among females isn't a simple ladder, and daughters don't always inherit their mother's rank. One explanation is that mothers don't back their daughters in social interactions, so daughters fight for rank of their own | The hierarchy among ring-tailed lemur females is not linear, and daughters do not always assume the rank of their mothers. One explanation for this pattern is that ring-tailed lemur mothers do not support their daughters in social interactions, so the daughters do not inherit rank but fight to achieve their own rank. (note: 'isn't a simple ladder' paraphrases 'not linear') |
| Females spend their whole lives in their birth troop, while males generally change troops when they reach sexual maturity at age three | Females spend their whole lives in their birth group. Generally males change groups when they reach sexual maturity at age three. |
| females are usually smaller than males | The average body mass for adult males is 6 pounds (3 kilograms). Females are usually smaller. |
| the black-and-white ringed tail can reach 61 centimeters (2 feet) | ring-tailed lemurs' tails are ringed with 13 alternating black and white bands. ... Their tails can be up to 2 feet long (61 centimeters). |
| Troops gather in open patches of forest to sunbathe, sitting with their bellies turned to the sun and their arms and legs stretched wide, in a pose some call "yoga." | A ring-tailed lemur mob will gather in open areas of the forest to sunbathe. They sit in what some call a "yoga position" with their bellies toward the sun and their arms and legs stretched out to the sides. |
| It exposes the sparser fur of their undersides to the sun's heat before they forage | This position maximizes the exposure of the less densely covered underside of the lemurs to the sun, warming them up before they forage. |
| Population fragmentation, the splitting of a species into small, cut-off groups, is a major threat, mostly due to human-induced habitat loss and degradation. In some regions ring-tailed lemurs are hunted with dogs for food, and they also turn up in the pet trade | Population fragmentation is a major threat to these lemurs, mostly due to human-induced habitat loss and degradation. In some regions, ring-tailed lemurs are hunted with dogs for food. They are also found in the pet trade. (note: the appositive glosses 'population fragmentation' for readers aged 11 to 14) |
| Yes. Females are dominant within troops, with first access to food and their choice of mates, which is unusual among primates. Their own ranking isn't a simple ladder, though: daughters don't always inherit their mother's rank. One explanation is that mothers don't back their daughters in social interactions, so daughters fight for rank of their own. | Females are dominant within groups, meaning females have preferential access to food and choice of whom to mate with. This is unusual in the primate world. ... The hierarchy among ring-tailed lemur females is not linear, and daughters do not always assume the rank of their mothers. One explanation for this pattern is that ring-tailed lemur mothers do not support their daughters in social interactions, so the daughters do not inherit rank but fight to achieve their own rank. |
| Troops gather in open areas of the forest to sunbathe, sitting with their bellies turned to the sun and arms and legs stretched to the sides, in what some call a "yoga position." It exposes the sparser fur on their undersides to the sun's heat, warming them up before they forage. | A ring-tailed lemur mob will gather in open areas of the forest to sunbathe. They sit in what some call a "yoga position" with their bellies toward the sun and their arms and legs stretched out to the sides. This position maximizes the exposure of the less densely covered underside of the lemurs to the sun, warming them up before they forage. |
| Population fragmentation is a major threat, mostly due to human-induced habitat loss and degradation. In some regions, ring-tailed lemurs are hunted with dogs for food, and they are also found in the pet trade. | Population fragmentation is a major threat to these lemurs, mostly due to human-induced habitat loss and degradation. In some regions, ring-tailed lemurs are hunted with dogs for food. They are also found in the pet trade. |

## Lemur. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/lemur

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Ring-tailed lemurs in human care have a median life expectancy of 16.7 years | For ring-tailed lemurs in human care, median life expectancy is 16.7 years |

## Ring-tailed Lemur. Duke Lemur Center.

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

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| scent glands on the inside of his wrists (antebrachial glands) and on his chest (brachial glands) | scent glands on the insides of his wrists ( antebrachial glands ) with stinky secretions produced by glands on his chest ( brachial glands ) |
| When a rival shows up, he mixes his wrist and chest secretions and anoints his tail with them | he is mixing secretions produced by scent glands on the insides of his wrists ( antebrachial glands ) with stinky secretions produced by glands on his chest ( brachial glands ). When the two secretions are well mixed, Jones can proceed to mark his territory with his wrist glands (which he will wind up doing here) or, if he were facing a rival, thoroughly anoint his tail for a stink fight. (note: final pass: the body never said the secretions were mixed, and 'skips the branches' was a detail the source does not give) |
| The two males face each other a few feet apart, repeatedly drawing their tails through their wrist glands and waving them over their heads while staring each other down. Eventually, one of them loses his nerve and runs | Male ring-tails are equipped with scent glands on their wrists which are used in stink fighting with rival males. Two males stand facing each other a few feet apart and, repeatedly drawing their tails through these glands, proceed to wave the tails over their heads, all the while staring in a hostile fashion at their rival. Eventually, one of the males will break down and run away. (note: 'loses his nerve' paraphrases 'break down') |
| Females carry only one scent gland, near the genitals, and a female's scent may advertise her fertility and even how far along a pregnancy is | Females have just one scent gland, which is located in the genital area. ... Via scent, females may advertise not only their fertility, but the presence of a pregnancy and how far along it is. (note: final pass: the source says 'Via scent', not via that gland, so the signal is no longer attributed to the gland) |
| Ring-tailed lemur troops answer to the females | Females are dominant over all males with the alpha female forming the focal point for the group as a whole. |
| In Madagascar, troops can hold up to 30 animals | Social structure: large groups of up to 30 with one dominant female in Madagascar (note: the National Zoo page gives three to 25 and ADW (2017) 15 to 20; Duke's figure is the only one scoped to wild troops in Madagascar) |
| Adults weigh 2.2 to 2.7 kilograms (4.9 to 6 pounds) | Adult size: 4.9 - 6 lbs (2.2 - 2.7 kg) |
| Ring-tailed lemurs eat fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, sap, and the occasional invertebrate | Ring-tailed lemurs' diet consists of fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, sap, and the occasional invertebrate. |
| Fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, sap, and the occasional invertebrate | Ring-tailed lemurs' diet consists of fruit, leaves, flowers, bark, sap, and the occasional invertebrate. |
| Scent warfare: males mix wrist (antebrachial) and chest (brachial) gland secretions, then anoint their tails for stink fights against rivals. | in typical male ring-tail marking behavior, he is mixing secretions produced by scent glands on the insides of his wrists ( antebrachial glands ) with stinky secretions produced by glands on his chest ( brachial glands ). When the two secretions are well mixed, ... if he were facing a rival, thoroughly anoint his tail for a stink fight. |
| Two rival males face off a few feet apart. Each repeatedly draws his ringed tail through the scent glands on his wrists, then waves the tail over his head while staring the other down. Eventually one male loses his nerve and runs off. | Male ring-tails are equipped with scent glands on their wrists which are used in stink fighting with rival males. Two males stand facing each other a few feet apart and, repeatedly drawing their tails through these glands, proceed to wave the tails over their heads, all the while staring in a hostile fashion at their rival. Eventually, one of the males will break down and run away. |
| rival males face each other a few feet apart, draw their tails through their wrist scent glands and wave them overhead | Male ring-tails are equipped with scent glands on their wrists which are used in stink fighting with rival males. Two males stand facing each other a few feet apart and, repeatedly drawing their tails through these glands, proceed to wave the tails over their heads, all the while staring in a hostile fashion at their rival. Eventually, one of the males will break down and run away. (note: vibe.reason (#692/#693)) |
| until eventually one loses his nerve and runs | Male ring-tails are equipped with scent glands on their wrists which are used in stink fighting with rival males. Two males stand facing each other a few feet apart and, repeatedly drawing their tails through these glands, proceed to wave the tails over their heads, all the while staring in a hostile fashion at their rival. Eventually, one of the males will break down and run away. (note: vibe.reason (#692/#693)) |

## Cuozzo & Sauther (2006). Severe wear and tooth loss in wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta): A function of feeding ecology, dental structure, and individual life history. Journal of Human Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2006.07.001

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In riverside gallery forests, hard, tough tamarind fruit is a key fallback food (one they turn to when preferred foods run short), yet their dental enamel is thin | hard, tough tamarind fruit is a key fallback food of ring-tailed lemurs living in gallery forests ... ring-tailed lemurs possess thin dental enamel. The incongruity between thin enamel and use of a hard, tough fallback food ... ring-tailed lemurs living in riverine gallery forests (note: the parenthetical glosses the term 'fallback food' for readers aged 11 to 14; it is a definition, not a finding of the paper) |
| A study that re-examined the same 50 wild lemurs a year apart found an individual's tooth loss could rise by as much as 20% in that time | When comparing dental health in the same individuals (n=50) between 2003 and 2004, we found that individual tooth loss can show a rapid increase over the span of one year, increasing by as much as 20%. |
| Even so, lemurs losing teeth this fast are able to survive, sometimes helped by tamarind fruit that other lemurs have already partly processed | Despite this rapid loss, individuals are able to survive, sometimes benefiting from unintentional assistance from conspecifics, from which partially processed tamarind fruit is obtained. (note: final pass: 'Those lemurs still survive' stated the fate of the 50; the source says 'individuals are able to survive') |

## Gould, Sussman & Sauther (2003). Demographic and life‐history patterns in a population of ring‐tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at Beza Mahafaly Reserve, Madagascar: A 15‐year perspective. American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.10151

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| One long-running study suggests wild ring-tails may reach a maximum life-span of 18 to 20 years | We suggest that 18-20 years may represent the maximum life-span for wild ring-tailed lemurs. |

## LaFleur & Gould (2020). Lemur catta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T11496A115565760.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2020-2.rlts.t11496a115565760.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN lists the species as Endangered | IUCN Red List category: Endangered (EN). |