Definitions for lemur
ˈli mərlemur

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. lemurnoun

   large-eyed arboreal prosimian having foxy faces and long furry tails

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. lemurnoun

   Any prosimian of the infraorder Lemuriformes, native only to Madagascar and some surrounding islands.

2. Etymology: From lemurēs (pl. only), "spirits of the night" (probably from the animals' nocturnal behaviour/behavior and large, reflective eyes).

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lemur

   Lemurs ( (listen) LEE-mər) (from Latin lemures – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees and are active at night. Lemurs share resemblance with other primates, but evolved independently from monkeys and apes. Due to Madagascar's highly seasonal climate, lemur evolution has produced a level of species diversity rivaling that of any other primate group. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, there were lemurs as large as a male gorilla. Most species have been discovered or promoted to full species status since the 1990s; however, lemur taxonomic classification is controversial and depends on which species concept is used. Lemurs range in weight from the 30-gram (1.1 oz) mouse lemur to the 9-kilogram (20 lb) indri. Lemurs share many common basal primate traits, such as divergent digits on their hands and feet, and nails instead of claws (in most species). However, their brain-to-body size ratio is smaller than that of anthropoid primates. As with all strepsirrhine primates, they have a "wet nose" (rhinarium). Lemurs are generally the most social of the strepsirrhine primates, and communicate more with scents and vocalizations than with visual signals. Lemurs have a relatively low basal metabolic rate, and as a result may exhibit dormancy such as hibernation or torpor. They also have seasonal breeding and female social dominance. Most eat a wide variety of fruits and leaves, while some are specialists. Two species of lemurs may coexist in the same forest due to different diets. Lemur research during the 18th and 19th centuries focused on taxonomy and specimen collection. Modern studies of lemur ecology and behavior did not begin in earnest until the 1950s and 1960s. Initially hindered by political issues on Madagascar during the mid-1970s, field studies resumed in the 1980s. Lemurs are important for research because their mix of ancestral characteristics and traits shared with anthropoid primates can yield insights on primate and human evolution. Many lemur species remain endangered due to habitat loss and hunting. Many lemur species have already gone extinct in the last 2000 years due to human activity, and are collectively referred to as the "subfossil lemurs". These are typically larger than extant lemurs, with the largest, Archaeoindris, being the size of a gorilla. Although local traditions, such as fady, generally help protect lemurs and their forests, illegal logging, economic privation and political instability conspire to thwart conservation efforts. Because of these threats and their declining numbers, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers lemurs to be the world's most endangered mammals, noting that as of 2013 up to 90% of all lemur species confront the threat of extinction in the wild within the next 20 to 25 years. As an iconic flagship species that exemplifies the biodiverse fauna of Madagascar, however, lemurs have facilitated the emergence of eco-tourism in Madagascar in World Heritage Sites, such as the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in eastern Madagascar. In addition, conservation organizations, such as the Lemur Conservation Foundation and the Duke Lemur Center, increasingly seek to implement community-based approaches, such as encouraging local communities to adopt sustainable agriculture and afforestation initiatives, to expand employment opportunities for ecological programs, preserve lemur habitats as well as promote public awareness and appreciation for lemurs.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. lemur

   A lemur is a small to medium-sized arboreal primate, native to Madagascar and the Comoros Islands. They are characterized by their long tails, large eyes, and flexible toes and fingers. Lemurs are known for their distinctive social behavior, consisting of both solitary and group living situations. They are primarily herbivores, feeding on fruit, leaves, and insects. They are among the most threatened groups of mammals on Earth, due to habitat destruction, hunting, and climate change.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lemurnoun

   one of a family (Lemuridae) of nocturnal mammals allied to the monkeys, but of small size, and having a sharp and foxlike muzzle, and large eyes. They feed upon birds, insects, and fruit, and are mostly natives of Madagascar and the neighboring islands, one genus (Galago) occurring in Africa. The slow lemur or kukang of the East Indies is Nycticebus tardigradus. See Galago, Indris, and Colugo

2. Etymology: [L., a ghost, specter. So called on account of its habit of going abroad by night.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lemur

   Lemurs are a clade of strepsirrhine primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. The word "lemur" derives from the word lemures from Roman mythology and was first used to describe a slender loris due to its nocturnal habits and slow pace, but was later applied to the primates on Madagascar. Although lemurs often are confused with ancestral primates, the anthropoid primates did not evolve from them; instead, lemurs merely share morphological and behavioral traits with basal primates. Lemurs arrived in Madagascar around 62 to 65 mya by rafting on mats of vegetation at a time when ocean currents favored oceanic dispersal to the island. Since that time, lemurs have evolved to cope with an extremely seasonal environment and their adaptations give them a level of diversity that rivals that of all other primate groups. Until shortly after humans arrived on the island around 2,000 years ago, there were lemurs as large as a male gorilla. Today, there are nearly 100 species of lemurs, and most of those species have been discovered or promoted to full species status since the 1990s; however, lemur taxonomic classification is controversial and depends on which species concept is used. Even the higher-level taxonomy is disputed, with some experts preferring to place most lemurs within the infraorder Lemuriformes, while others prefer Lemuriformes to contain all living strepsirrhines, placing all lemurs in superfamily Lemuroidea and all lorises and galagos in superfamily Lorisoidea.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lemur

   lē′mur, n. a genus of mammals appearing to stand between the Insectivora and the monkeys, forest dwellers, mainly nocturnal in habits, common in Madagascar. [L. lemur, a ghost.]

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lemur

   A genus of the family Lemuridae consisting of five species: L. catta (ring-tailed lemur), L. fulvus, L. macaco (acoumba or black lemur), L. mongoz (mongoose lemur), and L. variegatus (white lemur). Most members of this genus occur in forested areas on Madagascar and the Comoro Islands.

Matched Categories

1. • Primate

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce lemur?

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How to say lemur in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of lemur in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of lemur in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of lemur in a Sentence

1. Christoph Schwitzer:

   Indri are being hunted for food by rural Malagasy needing to feed their starving families, lemur hunting rose after the 2009 political crisis and is directly poverty-driven.

2. Chris Beard:

   To get an idea of what Ignacius looked like, imagine a cross between a lemur and a squirrel that was about half the size of a domestic cat, unlike living primates, Ignacius had eyes on the sides of its head (instead of facing forward like ours) and it had claws on its fingers and toes instead of nails.

3. Photographer Lucas Bracali:

   I was taking a photo of the lemur when all of a sudden he climbed down and tried to grab my camera, he hung upside down and reached out towards my camera. I couldnt believe it, I was really surprised!

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References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=lemur
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lemur
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lemur
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=lemur
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=lemur
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=lemur