lemur

Meaning

Noun

• Any strepsirrhine primate of the infraorder Lemuriformes, superfamily Lemuroidea, native only to Madagascar and some surrounding islands.
• Any of the genus Lemur, represented by the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta).
• A loris (Lemur tardigradus (species), now Loris tardigradus (species)), predating the 10th edition of Systema Naturæ.

Origin

• From Latin lemurēs ("spirits of the dead"). The name was originally given to the red slender loris (then Lemur tardigradus) in 1754 by Carl Linnaeus. According to Linnaeus, the name was selected because of the nocturnal activity and slow movements of the red slender loris. In 1758, Linnaeus added, among others, the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) to the genus Lemur. All other species, including the red slender loris, were eventually moved to other genera. In time, the word became the colloquial name for all primates endemic to Madagascar.