Dr. Stephanie L. Canington
IUCN RedList Data
Lemurs stand as the most endangered group of mammals (Schwitzer et al., 2014). Current IUCN Red List datasets indicate 73% of lemur species are Endangered or Critically Endangered and 23% are Vulnerable. This staggering number is no surprise, given that as of 2020, approximately 90% of Madagascar’s primary forest was reported lost to deforestation (Barret et al. 2010), the most pressing threat to wild lemurs. These primates are also greatly threatened by illegal capture, disease transmission from humans, hunting, and community-held taboos.
Barrett, M. A., Brown, J. L., Morikawa, M. K., Labat, J. N., & Yoder, A. D. (2010). CITES designation for endangered rosewood in Madagascar. Science, 328:1109-1110.
Schwitzer, C., Mittermeier, R. A., Johnson, S. E., Donati, G., ..... & Colquhoun, I. C. (2014). Averting lemur extinctions amid Madagascar's political crisis. Science, 343:842-843.
Condensed list of current RedList status for lemurs.
Lemur Conservation Network IUCN Page.
Order Primates Linnaeus, 1758
Suborder Strepsirrhini É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812
Infraorder Lemuriformes Gray, 1821
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Superfamily Daubentonoidea Gray, 1821
Family Daubentoniidae Gray, 1863. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1863:151.
Daubentonia É. Geoffroy, 1795. Decad. Philos. Litt., 28:195. Type sp. Sciurus madagascariensis Gmelin, 1788.
Superfamily Lemuroidea Gray, 1821. London Med. Repos., 15:296.
Family Cheirogaleidae Gray, 1873. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1872:849 [1873].
Allocebus Petter-Rousseaux and Petter, 1967. Mammalia, 31:574. Type sp. Cheirogaleus trichotis Günther, 1875.
Cheirogaleus É. Geoffroy, 1812. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, 19:172. Type sp. Cheirogaleus major É. Geoffroy, 1812; fixed by Elliot (1907b:548).
Microcebus É. Geoffroy, 1834. Cours Hist. Nat. Mamm., lecon 11, 1828:24. Type sp. Lemur pusillus É. Geoffroy, 1795 (=Lemur murinus J. F. Miller, 1777).
Mirza Gray, 1870. Cat. Monkeys, Lemurs, Fruit-eating Bats Brit. Mus., p. 131. Type sp. Cheirogaleus coquereli A. Grandidier, 1867.
Phaner Gray, 1870. Cat. Monkeys, Lemurs, Fruit-eating Bats Brit. Mus., p. 135. Type sp. Lemur furcifer Blainville, 1839.
Family Indriidae Burnett, 1828. Quart. J. Lit. Sci. Arts Lond., 2:306-307.
Avahi Jourdan, 1834. L’Institute, Paris, 2:231. Type sp. Lemur laniger Gmelin, 1788.
Indri É. Geoffroy and G. Cuvier, 1796. Mag. Encyclop., 1:46. Type sp. Lemur indri Gmelin, 1788.
Propithecus Bennett, 1832. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1832:20. Type sp. Propithecus diadema Bennett, 1832.
Family Lemuridae Gray, 1821. London Med. Repos., 15:296.
Eulemur Simons and Rumpler, 1988. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, III, 307:547 (15 September). Type sp. Lemur mongoz Linnaeus, 1766
Hapalemur I. Geoffroy, 1851. L’Inst. Paris, 19(929):341. Type sp. Lemur griseus É. Geoffroy, 1812 (=Lemur griseus Link, 1795).
Lemur Linnaeus, 1758. Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1:24. Type sp. Lemur catta Linnaeus, 1758
Prolemur Gray, 1871. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1870:828 [1871]. Type sp. Hapalemur (Prolemur) simus Gray, 1871.
Varecia Gray, 1863. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1863:135. Type sp. Lemur varius É. Geoffroy (=Lemur macaco variegatus Kerr, 1792).
Family Lepilemuridae Gray, 1870. Cat. Monkeys, Lemurs, Fruit-eating Bats Brit. Mus., p. 132.
Lepilemur I. Geoffroy, 1851. Cat. Meth. Coll. Mamm. Ois. (Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris), Primates, p. 75. Type sp. Lepilemur mustelinus I. Geoffroy, 1851.