Ring-tailed lemurs are the most easily recognisable species of lemur as they are the only species to have a ringed tail and are commonly found in zoos.

Subspecies
None.

Life span
27 years.

Statistics
Head and body length: 42cm, Tail length: 60cm, Weight: Female: 2.6kg, Male: 2.7kg.

Physical description
Ring-tailed lemurs have a grey back, with white under-parts and a white fox-like face with dark brown eye patches. They have a distinctive black and white ringed tail.

Distribution
They inhabit Madagascar.

Habitat
Ring-tailed lemurs live in spiny desert and dry forest, and scrub.

Diet
Although fruit makes up 70 per cent of their diet, they also feed on leaves, bark, sap and flowers.

Behaviour
Ring-tailed lemurs are diurnal and arboreal. They are more terrestrial than other lemurs and move quadrupedally across the forest floor. When it is sunny, they spend time sunbathing. Females are dominant to males, and the dominance hierarchies between females are complicated and changeable. Group size varies from 5-30, but averages at 17 members of mixed sex, but with one dominant female.

Reproduction
Females give birth to one infant after a gestation period of 134-138 days. The mother carries the infant ventrally for its first weeks and then carries it on her back.

Conservation status
Ring-tailed lemurs are endangered, due to the growth of human settlements and by hunting.