Learning

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Learning from Lemurs
Click here to start your lemur adventure!
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Hi, my name is Leah the Lemur. Today lemurs
like me live on the island of Madagascar, but
this was not always the case! Lemurs are ENDEMIC
to the island of Madagascar. Click on the word
endemic to find out what it means.
Click to continue your adventure
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ENDEMIC means that something (animal, plant,
mineral, people, etc.) can ONLY be found in
ONE location on our earth. Lemurs are special
because they are the only non-human primates to
make it onto the island of Madagascar.
Click here to return to the previous page.
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I would like to take you on an adventure. I
would like to tell you about my lemur ancestors.
I would also like to show you how and why lemurs
became endemic to the Island of
Madagascar! Would you like to join me on an
island biogeography adventure?
YES?
NO?
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Im glad youre interested in learning more
about lemurs! What we are going to do is travel
through time. Hold on TIGHT!
Click here to travel back in time with Leah the
Lemur
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Too BAD! I guess youll never Uncover the
Secrets of Madagascar!
Return to beginning of the game
Click here if you have changed your mind and
would like to learn more about lemurs!
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Our story begins 200 million years ago. The
worlds land masses were connected. This land
mass is called Pangaea.
Madagascar
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Because all the land was connected, everything
looked and felt the same.
Madagascar
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However, this was soon to change.
Madagascar
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Two million years ago there were NO mammals and
the forests were filled with Christmas trees
(gymnosperms).
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The world stayed this way until one day the
skies turned black.
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About 70 million years ago There was a global
disaster. The world began to change.
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70 million years ago, the world looked very
similar to what it looks like today.
Madagascar, the island
Madagascar The Island
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As the clouds began to clear, new life forms
began to thrive. These life forms were mammals.
Alongside mammals fruiting plants blossomed.
Fruit plants, like banana trees, are
called ANGIOSPERMS.
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This is where my history begins. ANGIOSPERMS are
key to both my history and yours. Because of
fruiting plants, mammals like primates,
marsupials, bats, and tree shrews were able to
grow and become dominant life forms.
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Marsupials
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Tree Shrews
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Bats
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Primates
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My ancestors were not called lemurs yet. They
were called Adapids. My ancestors may have had a
different name than me, but we share many traits
and characters.
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This is an ADAPID. My lemur-like ancestor. We
both have forward facing eyes, large brains, and
grasping hands.
ADAPID
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The Adapids lived in these African forests for
millions of years. They shared this forest with
many different kinds of animals. Even other
primates!
ADAPID
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These primates are known as the Omomyids. They
are the ancestors of ANTHROPOIDS.
Omomyid
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Anthropoids and Prosimians lived side by side in
the lush warm rainforests of Africa for millions
of years.
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However, since Anthropoids have specialized
vision, larger brains, and better grasping
ability than lemurs, they began to multiply.
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Soon, there were more ANTHROPOIDS than
PROSIMIANS. The anthropoids were eating all
the good food, leaving very little for
the prosimians to eat.
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So my ancestors decided to leave Africa to find
food somewhere else. My ancestors needed to find
an anthropoid free home, that was warm, green,
and filled with delicious fruits.
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Have you ever wondered why lemurs live in
Madagascar rather than North America, Europe,
and or Asia?
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When lemurs left Africa, 60 million years ago,
the world was their oyster! They could go
anywhere in the world however, they ended up
choosing Madagascar. WHY?
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Europe
N. America
Asia
North Africa
S. America
Madagascar
Antarctica
Click on a land mass that my ancestor might visit
in hopes of finding a new home. Please visit
other land masses before visiting Madagascar.
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Welcome to Asia. Look at the habitats. Can you
tell if this is a LEMUR friendly place?
Click here if you think this is a lemur-friendly
place .
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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Outside the few remaining rainforests of Africa,
Asia, and South America there are very few
lemur friendly places.
Click to continue
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Click here if you think this is a lemur-friendly
place .
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
Welcome to Antarctica. Look at the habitats. Can
you tell if this is a LEMUR friendly place?
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Non-lemur prosimian
But today, Anthropoids Are everywhere. The
few Prosimians that remain in Africa and Asia
are small, live alone at night, and eat insects.
This is not the life for a lemur!
Click to continue
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Welcome to Madagascar! Look at the habitats. Can
you tell if this is a LEMUR friendly place? WHY
or WHY NOT?
Click here if you think this is a lemur-friendly
place .
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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Welcome to Europe. 70 million years ago, most
of Europe was still under water. Look at the
habitats. Can you tell if this is a LEMUR
friendly place? WHY or WHY NOT?
Click here if you think this is a lemur-friendly
place .
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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Click here if you think this is a lemur-friendly
place .
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
Welcome to North America! Look at the
habitats. Can you tell if this is a LEMUR
friendly place? WHY or WHY NOT?
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Click here if you think this is a lemur-friendly
place .
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
Welcome to South America! Look at the
habitats. Can you tell if this is a LEMUR
friendly place?
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Welcome to the deserts of North Africa. Look at
the habitats. Can you tell if this is a LEMUR
friendly place? WHY or WHY NOT?
Click here if you think this is a lemur-friendly
place .
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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Ooops you didnt make it to South America! We
have ended up in the ATLANTIC OCEAN! Look at the
habitats. Can you tell if this is a LEMUR
friendly place? WHY or WHY NOT?
Click here if you think this is a lemur-friendly
place .
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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Lemurs were safe on Madagascar until 2000 years
ago. 2000 years ago humans arrived on the
island. Humans burned the forests to grow their
crops, but my lemur friends were living there.
Without a forest a lemur can not survive.
Click to continue
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Asia is a wonderful place, but not for
lemurs. If my lemur ancestors stayed in Asia
they would have died. The weather is too
cold. What my lemur ancestors needed was a warm,
green, fruit-filled environment.?
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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Europe is a wonderful place, but 70 million years
ago it was not a good home for lemurs. Most of
Europe was underwater. Europe at this time had
too much water and not enough trees. My lemur
ancestors would have died here.
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
Although it is warm in North America, my lemur
ancestor could not survive here. There were too
many carnivores that would have eaten my
ancestors. Additionally, there were not enough
fruiting trees.
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Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
Antarctica is a wonderful place, but not for
lemurs. If my lemur ancestors stayed in
Antarctica they would have died. The weather is
too cold, and there are NO FRUTING PLANTS! What
my lemur ancestors needed was a warm, green,
fruit-filled environment.?
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North Africa is just too hot! Here in the dessert
it is so hot that fruiting plants cant survive.
Since there are few fruiting plants, there are
no lemurs!
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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This is a perfect place for LEMURS! It is warm,
green, and filled with fruits! The island is
almost completely free of other animals. Since
the island was empty, my lemur ancestors were
allowed to explore the whole island. Lemurs
started to take over their new home.
Click to continue
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Because my lemur ancestors, the Adapids, found
an empty, Anthropoid-free home, they multiplied.
As their numbers increased, they changed
their shape to better fit their new environment.
Around me are my lemur cousins. These are the
direct ancestors of the Adapids!
Click to continue
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The ocean gap between Africa and South America 70
million years ago was too great for lemurs
to cross. If my lemur ancestors decided to
move to South America, they would drowned.
Click here to return to the world map to find a
new habitat.
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Lemurs want to live side by side the humans, but
we need our forests. Many of my lemur friends
have thought about leaving the forests and
traveling the world to relocate, just as we did
60 million years ago.
Click to continue
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Since Lemurs evolved in isolation on the island
of Madagascar, they are unable to live in any
other environment. Please help conserve our
home. I hope that you enjoyed your lemur
journey and gained a better understanding of
who lemurs are. I hope to see you in Madagascar
one day!
Click to continue
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For more information about the Plate images
contactLisa M. GahaganInstitute for
Geophysics4412 Spicewood Springs Rd., Bldg.
600Austin, TX 78759plates_at_ig.utexas.edu
Return to the beginning of the learning from
lemurs story.
For more information about the lemurs of
Madagascar contactMagdalena Muchlinski Institute
for Geophysics4412 Spicewood Springs Rd., Bldg.
600Austin, TX 78759magdalena_at_mail.utexas.edu
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Europe
N. America
Asia
North Africa
S. America
Madagascar
Antarctica
Click on a land mass that my ancestor might visit
in hopes of finding a new home. Please visit
other land masses before visiting Madagascar.