Lemurs are primates and are native only to Madagascar, an island nation off the coast of Eastern Africa. They are nocturnal animals and mostly live in trees. Their diet is consists of a variety of leaves and fruit.
The sense of smell is highly important to lemurs and is often used in communication, designating things like a lemur's age or sex or its territorial boundaries. Lemurs will scent mark with urine and also scent glands located on the wrists, inside elbow, genital regions, or the neck. Male ring-tailed lemurs also have scent glands on the inside of their forearms and will sometimes wipe their tails between their forearms and then engage in "stink fights" by waving their tail at their opponents.
More than 50 different species of lemurs exist, ranging in size from the 30 g (1.1 oz) Madame Berthe's mouse lemur (the world's smallest primate) to the 9-kilogram (20 lb.) indri. An extinct species even rivaled the size of gorillas. Lemurs are considered to be some of the world's most endangered mammals.
