Fat-tailed dwarf lemur hibernation (first hibernating primate)
Hibernación del lémur enano de cola gruesa (primer primate hibernante)
- Date
- 2004 · confidence high
- Place
- Kirindy Forest, Menabe, Madagascar
- Credited to
- Kathrin Dausmann and Jörg Ganzhorn
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
The fat-tailed dwarf lemur was found to spend up to seven dry months in tree holes with a body temperature that follows the ambient one. It is the first known primate to hibernate.
Published in Nature (2004). The definition of 'hibernation' in a tropical animal is debated: some prefer to speak of seasonal torpor.
What it led to
- new hypotheses on the evolution of hibernation in primates
- metabolism studies relevant to hypothermia treatment and space travel
- evidence on lemur adaptations to unpredictable environments