By now regular readers of this blog know that I have a definite affinity for saber-toothed critters, a rather motley assemblage of unrelated animals which include a large number of extinct and extant animals. Many primate species, somewhat surprisingly, fall into this category. Some representatives like baboons have extremely impressive canines (complete with a specialized molar to sharpen their teeth on), but lemurs also have some formidable dentition. In many primate species enlargement of the canines is a sexually dimorphic trait, males having larger canines than females. Gibbons are an exception to this rule and, as it turns out, so are lemurs. Many of the lemur species I saw at the Duke Lemur Center had the tips of their canines sticking out from beneath their upper lip, and the trait is present in both males and females. Rather than indicating predatory habits, the canines of lemurs are probably enlarged to cut into the tough coverings of some fruits and other foods that they eat, and so it seems that enlarged canines have a great number of functions in the varying mammalian species that have them.
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Now, if someone had shown me that skull, I would have predicted carnivore. Those are some impressive canines. I had to read it twice to realize you really were talking about lemurs. I guess (most likely from my kids watching Zyboomaphoo(or however its spelled) on PBS) I have lemurs in my 'cute and cuddly' mental drawer. Of course, my idea of cute and cuddly is odd -- as a child, I used to catch tarantulas, put them on my shoulder, and walk into the Visitor Center at Grand Canyon National Park.
Which species of lemur is this?