Adaptive Radiation
Ring-Tailed Lemur
About Me
My Ancestry
My ancestry as a ring-tailed lemur is a little weird. All lemurs evolved from the Strepsirrhini which was a type of primate that branched off from the rest of primates 63 million years ago. They branched off because the island of Madagascar broke off or the rest of Africa. While it is unclear how my ancestors got to the island there are some theories on how my ancestors got there. One theory is that they got on natural rafts that were blown out to sea and landed on Madagascar. Others believe that they were on the island when it broke off the rest of Africa.
I live in the southern part of Madagascar but I have a lot of cousins all over the island. There are about fifty lemur spices on the island and we all evolved from one single animal. We evolved once we got to the island. We evolved because of many things such as food, environment, and predators. I have a very unique tail and that is because I needed a way to let my friends see me so I stick my tail in the air so they can see me. The aye-aye is one of my cousins and we are examples of adaptive radiation. Adaptive radiation is when organisms diversities rapidly in order to cope with new environmental changes.
Going Extinct
Conclusion
Thank You
References
http://yoderlab.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2008Horvath_etalGR.pdf
"Ring-Tailed Lemur" National Geographic, NP, ND, 2015-2019
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/r/ring-tailed-lemur/
John R. Platt, "Ring-Tailed Lemurs Population Have Crashed by 95 Percent" Scientific American, Jan. 13, 2017 NP
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/ring-tailed-lemur-crashe/
The University of Colorado Boulder, "What is a Ring-Tailed Lemur?", Beza Mahafaly Lemur Biology Project, ND, NP
https://www.colorado.edu/project/lemur/what-ring-tailed-lemur
Duke Lemur Center, "Ring-Tailed Lemur" Duke Lemur Center, ND, NP
https://lemur.duke.edu/discover/meet-the-lemurs/ring-tailed-lemur/