Before eating millipedes, brown lemurs salivate on them and roll them in their hands for a few minutes, possibly because some species are poisonous.

Subspecies
E.f.albifrons, E.f.fulvus, E.f.mayottensis, E.f.rufus, E.f.collaris, E.f.sanfordi, E.f.albocollaris.

Life span
30 years.

Statistics
Head and body length: 40-50cm, Tail length: 50-55cm, Weight: 2.1-2.4kg.

Physical description
Brown lemurs range in colour from grey to brown, depending on the individual and gender.

Distribution
Brown lemurs inhabit Madagascar and the Comoro Islands.

Habitat
They live in deciduous forest and closed-canopy forest.

Diet
Brown lemurs feed on fruit, leaves, sap, flowers, bark, soil, insects, centipedes and millipedes.

Behaviour
Brown lemurs are arboreal and spend 95 per cent of their time in the upper layers of the forest. They are cathemeral (active at varying times throughout the 24hr period). They live in multimale-multifemale groups, with about 13-18 members. Brown lemurs move through the canopy quadrupedally and by leaping.

Reproduction
After a gestation period of 130 days, one to two infants are born between August and October.

Conservation status
E.f.albifrons, E.f.fulvus and E.f.rufus are in the Lower Risk category of the IUCN Red List. E.f.collaris and E.f.sanfordi are listed as Vulnerable. E.f.albocollaris is in the Critically Endangered category.