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'{{Short description|Species of true lemur}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Speciesbox | name = Blue-eyed black lemur | taxon = Eulemur flavifrons | authority = [[John Edward Gray|J. E. Gray]], 1867<ref name="Mittermeier2008">{{cite journal|author=Mittermeier, R. A.|date=2008|title=Lemur Diversity in Madagascar|journal=International Journal of Primatology|volume=29|issue=6|pages=1607–1656|doi=10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y|display-authors=etal |hdl=10161/6237|s2cid=17614597|citeseerx=10.1.1.888.2333}}</ref> | image = Blue-Eyed Black Lemur.jpg | image_caption = Black-haired male, [[Bristol Zoo]] | image2 = Blue-eyed black lemur.jpg | image2_caption = Reddish-brown-haired female | status = CR | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Volampeno, S. |author2=Randriatahina, G. |author3=Schwitzer, C. |author4=Seiler, M. |date=2020 |title=''Eulemur flavifrons'' |volume=2020 |page=e.T8211A115563094 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T8211A115563094.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A1 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web | url = http://checklist.cites.org/#/en/search/scientific_name=Eulemur | title = Checklist of CITES Species | website = CITES | publisher = UNEP-WCMC | access-date = 18 March 2015}}</ref> | synonyms = *''nigerrimus'' <small>Sclater, 1880</small> | range_map = Eulemur flavifrons range map.svg | range_map_caption = Distribution of ''E.&nbsp;flavifrons''<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> }} The '''blue-eyed black lemur''' ('''''Ted from Fucking All Hail King Julien'''''), also known as the '''Zesty Nigga''', is a [[species]] of [[true lemur]]. It can attain a body length of {{cvt|39|-|45|cm}}, a tail length of {{cvt|51|-|65|cm}}, a total length of {{cvt|90|-|100|cm}}, and a weight of {{cvt|1.8|-|1.9|kg}}.<ref name=mad>{{cite book|title=Lemurs of Madagascar|author=Mittermeier, RA|page=291|year=2006|publisher=Conservation International |isbn=1-881173-88-7}}</ref> Being a [[primate]], it has strong hands with palms like a human, which have a rubbery texture to give it a firm grip on branches. Its tail is longer than its body and is non-prehensile. Like many of the [[species]] in the genus ''[[Eulemur]]'', the blue-eyed black lemur is [[sexually dichromatic]]. Males are solid black in color, with the hairs sometimes tinged brown at the roots. Females are reddish-brown in color with their underside and outline of their face a lighter tan. They have a dark brown or gray muzzle and the back of their hands and feet are a similar dark color. Both sexes have [[blue eyes]], hence the common name, and are one of the only primates other than humans to consistently have blue eyes. The eyes can range in color from a shocking electric blue, a light sky-blue, or a softer gray-blue. Although the blue-eyed black lemur and the [[black lemur]] look similar, they can be differentiated by the blue eyes and lack of prominent ear tufts of this species, while the black lemur has orange-red eyes and long, spiky cheek hairs. In the Manongarivo Special reserve, where the range of the two species overlap, there is a report of [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridization]] between the two species, but the resulting offspring always have orange eyes. Until 2008, the blue-eyed black lemur was considered a subspecies, ''E. macaco flavifrons'', of the black lemur.<ref name="Mittermeier2008" /> == Behavior == This [[true lemur]] has not been studied intensively in the wild, but it is known to be fairly social. Group sizes vary from four to eleven individuals on average. Females are dominant as in most lemur species, and there are usually more males than females in each social group. The blue-eyed black lemur is thought to be [[Polygyny in animals|polygynous]]. Females give birth to one or two offspring in June or July, after a gestation of 120 to 129 days. The young are weaned after about 5–6 months, and reach maturity at about 2 years of age. It may live between 15 and 30 years in captivity, with little data recorded on their longevity in the wild. It demonstrates a [[cathemeral]] activity pattern, being awake sporadically throughout the day. The occasional nighttime activities are thought to be based on the intensity of the moonlight.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> The blue-eyed black lemur communicates with [[scent marking|scent-marking]], vocalizations, and perhaps some facial expressions. Scent marking is an important means of communication as with most lemur species. Both genders will mark on trees with [[anogenital]] glands, while males will also mark using wrist and palm glands by rubbing and twisting them against leaves, twigs or branches. Males also use a scent gland on the top of their head to mark, lowering their head and rubbing in quick sliding motions.<ref>[http://lemur.duke.edu/animals/blueeyed/social.php Duke Lemur Center] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517071011/http://lemur.duke.edu/animals/blueeyed/social.php |date=17 May 2008 }}</ref> Little is known of its vocalizations, but it has been observed making a variety of grunts, chirps, barks and clicks. The males are known to make a sharp 'scree' when distressed. The blue-eyed black lemur has also been observed to be a highly aggressive species. There is frequent infighting between troop members, especially during the breeding and birthing seasons. In captivity it has been observed committing infanticide against other species of lemurs, a behavior that is usually uncommon, especially in captivity. === Diet === Fruit, pollen, and nectar make up the bulk of this lemur's diet. During the dry season when food is scarce it may eat leaves, seeds and berries and rarely insects. It may also raid farmlands and eat some of the crops, which may lead to it being shot by farmers.<ref name="BirkinshawColquhoun1998">{{Cite journal | last1 = Birkinshaw | first1 = C. R. | last2 = Colquhoun | first2 = I. | doi = 10.1159/000021634 | title = Pollination of ''Ravenala madagascariensis'' and ''Parkia madagascariensis'' by ''Eulemur macaco'' in Madagascar | journal = Folia Primatologica | volume = 69 | issue = 5 | pages = 252–259 | year = 1998 | pmid = 9751827| s2cid = 3781731 }}</ref> The blue-eyed black lemur helps propagate many rain forest plants. Since it digests the flesh but not the seeds of the fruits it eats, it spreads the seeds of more than 50 different plant species (deposited in a fresh pile of fertilizer), and some plants may have evolved specifically to be dispersed by this lemur.<ref name="Birkinshaw2001">{{Cite journal | last1 = Birkinshaw | first1 = C. | title = Fruit characteristics of species dispersed by the black lemur (''Eulemur macaco'') in the Lokobe Forest, Madagascar | doi = 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2001.tb00201.x | journal = Biotropica | volume = 33 | issue = 3 | pages = 478–486 | year = 2001 | pmid = 32313295| pmc = 7161794}}</ref> The blue-eyed black lemur also pollinates many plants while it eats nectar and pollen from the plants' flowers.<ref name="BirkinshawColquhoun1998" /> == Habitat == The blue-eyed black lemur inhabits primary and secondary sub-tropical moist and dry forests in the northwestern tip of [[Madagascar]]. Its range extends from the Andranomalaza River in the north, to the Maevarano River in the south. Some areas where it can readily be seen are in the forests south of [[Maromandia]] near [[Antananarivo]] and [[Antsiranana]]. It may also be seen in the remaining forest patches of the [[Sahamalaza National Park|Sahamalaza Peninsula]], such as the Ankarafa forest.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> == Conservation == Humans have cut down almost all of this species' habitat to clear farm land. As a result, the blue-eyed black lemur is nearly extinct in the wild. The blue-eyed black lemur is listed on Appendix I of [[CITES]], and is [[critically endangered]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> As few as 1,000 individuals are thought to remain in the wild, largely due to slash and burn habitat destruction, as well as a mild threat from hunting problems. == References == {{Commons}} {{Reflist}} {{Lemuridae nav}} {{The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates nav}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q882366}} [[Category:True lemurs]] [[Category:Endemic fauna of Madagascar]] [[Category:Mammals of Madagascar]] [[Category:Critically endangered fauna of Africa]] [[Category:Mammals described in 1867]] [[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]] [[Category:Species endangered by slash-and-burn]]'