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Aye-aye

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

           How to read a taxoboxAye-aye

                             Conservation status

   Endangered ( IUCN)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom:    Animalia
   Phylum:     Chordata
   Class:      Mammalia
   Order:      Primates
   Suborder:   Strepsirrhini
   Infraorder: Chiromyiformes
               Anthony and Coupin, 1931
   Family:     Daubentoniidae
               Gray, 1863
   Genus:      Daubentonia
               É. Geoffroy, 1795
   Species:    D. madagascariensis

                                Binomial name

   Daubentonia madagascariensis
   ( Gmelin, 1788)

   The Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a strepsirrhine native to
   Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth with a long, thin middle
   finger to fill the same ecological niche of a woodpecker. It is the
   world's largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unique
   method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws
   holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the
   grubs out.

   Daubentonia is the only genus in the family Daubentoniidae and
   infraorder Chiromyiformes. The Aye-aye is the only extant member of the
   genus (although it is currently an endangered species); a second
   species (Daubentonia robusta) was exterminated over the last few
   centuries.

Physical Characteristics

   Aye-aye specimen. This specimen is bleached compared to Aye-aye normal
   blackish coloration. Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois
   Aye-aye specimen. This specimen is bleached compared to Aye-aye normal
   blackish coloration. Field Museum, Chicago, Illinois

   The Aye-aye is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and dwells
   predominantly in forest canopies. It weighs about 2.5 kilograms, with
   the female weighing in slightly less (by an average of 100 grams) than
   males. Other than weight and sex organs, aye-ayes exhibit no sexual
   dimorphism of any kind. They all grow from 30-37 cm from head to body,
   with a 44-53 cm tail.

   The adult Aye-aye has black or dark brown fur covered by white guard
   hairs at the neck. The tail is bushy and shaped like that of a
   squirrel. The Aye-aye's face is also rodent-like, the shape of a
   raccoon's, and houses bright, beady, luminous eyes. Its incisors are
   very large, and grow continuously throughout its lifespan. These
   features contrast its monkey-like body, and are the likely cause of why
   scientists originally deemed it to be a rodent.

   The Aye-aye's hands are arguably its most unique feature. Much like
   other primates, it possesses opposable thumbs, but both the hallux and
   the fingers are long and thin, and appear to be in a curved position
   somewhat similar to that of a fairy-tale witch when the muscles are
   relaxed. The middle finger can be up to three times longer than the
   others.

   Gestation for the Aye-aye lasts from 5 to 5 1/3 months. Births can
   occur at any time during the year, and females often wait 2-3 years
   between births. The infant takes about 7 months to be weaned, and stays
   with its mother for two years. The Aye-aye matures quickly; males
   rarely take more than 1 1/2 years to mature, and females take about an
   extra year. Lifespan is not known, but the world record is 23 years in
   captivity.

Habitat

   The Aye-aye lives primarily on the east coast of Madagascar. Its
   natural habitat is rainforest or deciduous forest, but many live in
   cultivated areas due to deforesting. Rainforest Aye-ayes, the most
   common, dwell in canopy areas, and are usually sighted upwards of 700
   meters altitude. The Aye-aye sleeps during the day in nests built in
   the forks of trees.

Behaviour

Social Interaction

   The Aye-aye is classically considered 'solitary', but recent research
   suggests that they are more social than once thought. It usually sticks
   to foraging in its own personal home range, or territory. The home
   ranges of males often overlap and the males can be very social with
   each other. Female home ranges never overlap, though a male's home
   range often overlaps that of several females.The male Aye-Aye live in
   large areas that are up to eighty acres while female have smaller
   living space that goes up to twenty acres."Regular scent marking with
   their cheeks, neck and genitals is a way that aye-ayes let others know
   of their presence and repel intruders from their territory." (
   http://www.durrellwildlife.org/index.cfm?p=403). Like many other
   prosimians, the female Aye-aye is dominant to the male. The Aye-aye is
   not monogamous by any means, and often competes with each other for
   mates. Males are very aggressive in this regard, and sometimes even
   pull other males off a female during sex. Outside of mating, males and
   females interact only occasionally, usually while foraging.

   After impregnating a female, the male usually stays in close proximity
   until the infant is born and has matured a bit. The father will
   sometimes share food with the infant, but otherwise infants' primary
   source of social interaction is with their mothers. Mothers and infants
   often wrestle, chase, and play "peek-a-boo" for entertainment. After 13
   weeks, infants are usually ready to interact with other young Aye-ayes,
   usually by play-fighting.

Foraging

   An Aye-aye foraging, c.1863, Joseph Wolf. Held at the Natural History
   Museum, London
   An Aye-aye foraging, c.1863, Joseph Wolf. Held at the Natural History
   Museum, London

   The Aye-aye begins foraging anywhere between 30 minutes before or 3
   hours after sunset. Up to 80% of the night is spent foraging in the
   canopy, separated by occasional rest periods. The monkey-like body of
   the Aye-aye enables it to move vertically with ease. It climbs trees by
   making successive vertical leaps, much like a squirrel. Horizontal
   movement is more difficult, but the Aye-aye rarely descends to jump to
   another tree, and can often cross up to 4 kilometers a night.

   Infants are fully dextrous within a month of birth. At first they can
   only climb on a branch hanging upside down, but they gradually work
   their way up to the various acrobatic feats that adults can perform.
   Curiously, walking and running on the ground is often hardest for an
   Aye-aye to master.

Diet

   The Aye-aye commonly eats nuts, and also grubs, fruits, nectar, seeds,
   and fungi, classifying it as an omnivore. It often picks fruit off
   trees as it moves through the canopy, often barely stopping to do so.
   An Aye-aye not lucky enough to live in its natural habitat will often
   steal coconuts, mangoes, sugar cane, lychees and eggs from villages and
   plantations. Aye-ayes chew a hole into wood and get grubs out of that
   hole with their elongated and bony middle fingers.

Social foraging

   Though foraging is mostly solitary, it will occasionally forage in
   groups. Individual movements within the group are coordinated using
   both sound (vocalisations) and scent signals.

History

   The original meaning of the name Aye-aye has been lost, as the
   originating language is extinct. There is a hypothesis that the word
   "aye aye" signifies simply a cry of alarm to alert others to the
   presence of this animal, which many Malagasy consider an ill omen.

   With D. robusta's extermination, the D. madagascariensis Aye-aye was
   thought to be extinct. However, it was later rediscovered in 1961. Six
   individuals were transported to Nosy Mangabe, an island near
   Maroantsetra in eastern Madagascar. Recent research shows that the
   Aye-aye is more widespread than was previously thought, but is still
   endangered.

   There are several Aye-ayes kept in zoos. The largest collection of
   Aye-ayes and the most successful breeding program is at the Duke Lemur
   Centre at Duke University with a current population of 22 individuals.
   Several also reside outside of the US at various locations in the
   United Kingdom: Bristol Zoo Gardens, London Zoo, and Jersey Zoo; and in
   Japan at the Ueno Zoo.

   The Aye-aye was once thought to be a type of squirrel that lived
   underground, using its long finger to capture insects and worms.

Superstition and public controversy

   The Aye-aye is an endangered species not only because its habitat is
   being destroyed, but also due to native superstition. Besides being a
   general nuisance in villages, ancient Malagasy legend said that the
   Aye-aye was a symbol of death. It is viewed as a good omen in some
   areas, however, but these areas are a minority.

   Researchers in Madagascar report remarkable fearlessness in the
   Aye-aye; some accounts tell of individual animals strolling
   nonchalantly in village streets or even walking right up to naturalists
   in the rainforest and sniffing their shoes. Therefore, it is no wonder
   that displaced animals often raid coconut plantations or steal food in
   villages. It is not unlike the American raccoon in this regard.

   However, public contempt goes beyond this. The Aye-aye is often viewed
   as a harbinger of evil and killed on sight. Others believe that should
   one point its long middle finger at you, you were condemned to death.
   Some say the appearance of an Aye-aye in a village predicts the death
   of a villager, and the only way to prevent this is to kill the Aye-aye.
   The Saklava people go so far as to claim Aye-ayes sneak into houses
   through the thatched roofs and murder the sleeping occupants by using
   their middle finger to puncture the victim's aorta.

   Incidents of Aye-aye killings increase every year as its forest
   habitats are destroyed and it is forced to raid plantations and
   villages. Because of the superstition surrounding it, this often ends
   in death. Fortunately, the superstition can prevent people from hunting
   them for food.

Classification

     * ORDER PRIMATES
          + Suborder Strepsirrhini: non-tarsier prosimians
               o Infraorder Lemuriformes
               o Infraorder Chiromyiformes
                    # Family Daubentoniidae
                         @ Genus Daubentonia
                              - Aye-aye, Daubentonia madagascariensis
                              - (Daubentonia robusta, extinct)
               o Infraorder Lorisiformes

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