Cheirogaleidae is the family of strepsirrhine primates that contains the various dwarf and mouse lemurs. Like all other lemurs, cheirogaleids live exclusively on the island of Madagascar.
Cheirogaleids are smaller than the other lemurs and, in fact, they are the smallest primates. They have a soft, long fur colored grey-brown to reddish on top with a generally brighter underbelly. Typically they have small ears, large, close set eyes, and long hi...
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Cheirogaleidae is the family of strepsirrhine primates that contains the various dwarf and mouse lemurs. Like all other lemurs, cheirogaleids live exclusively on the island of Madagascar.
Cheirogaleids are smaller than the other lemurs and, in fact, they are the smallest primates. They have a soft, long fur colored grey-brown to reddish on top with a generally brighter underbelly. Typically they have small ears, large, close set eyes, and long hind legs. Like all strepsirrhines they have fine claws at the second toe of the hind legs. They grow to a size of only 13 to 28 cm, with a tail that is very long, sometimes up to one and a half times as long as the body. They weigh no more than 500 grams, with some species weighing as little as 60 grams.
Dwarf and mouse lemurs are nocturnal and arboreal. They are excellent climbers and can also jump far, using their long tail for balance. When on the ground (a rare occurrence) they move by hopping on their hind legs. They spend the day in tree...
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