MythscribeMundus
THE NATURAL & IMAGINED WORLDAn illustrated compendium
mythscribe.cloudSearch/
NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Red-tailed Sportive Lemur

Lepilemur ruficaudatus Grandidier, 1867

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The red-tailed sportive lemur (Lepilemur ruficaudatus), or red-tailed weasel lemur, is native to Madagascar like all lemurs. It is a nocturnal species feeding largely on leaves, though they also eat some fruit. Individuals weigh around 800 g (1.8 lb), and there is little sexual dimorphism. In general they live in mated pairs, with a home range of about 10,000 square metres. Both members of the pair use the same home range, and there is little overlap between the home ranges of neighbouring pairs. Travel distances each night are between 100 m (330 ft) and 1 km (0.6 mi), making this a relatively inactive species. This species can be found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. Red-tailed sportive lemurs travel in these pairs because it can be difficult for a male to produce roaming strategies and move further away from the homeland. Therefore, they typically pair up with only one female for reproduction, hence their "partner". Additionally, these Lemurs don't typically have a strong early warning system, making it difficult for them to warn others or send a signal.

Wikipedia contributors, Red-tailed sportive lemur; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:07:48.147278+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Lepilemur ruficaudatus Grandidier, 1867
Name authority
Grandidier, 1867
Common name
Red-tailed Sportive Lemur
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Primates
Family
Lepilemuridae
Genus
Lepilemur
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
  9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
  10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
  11. orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
  12. suborderStrepsirrhini É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812
  13. infraorderLemuriformes Gray, 1821
  14. superfamilyLemuroidea Gray, 1821
  15. familyLepilemuridae Gray, 1870
  16. genusLepilemur I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1851
  17. speciesLepilemur ruficaudatus Grandidier, 1867

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Lepilemur. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Hawk's Sportive LemurLepilemur tymerlachsoni Louis Jr., Engberg, Lei, Geng, Sommer, Randriamampionona, Randriamanana, Zaonarivelo et al., 2006LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Weasel LemurLepilemur mustelinus I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1851LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Daraina Sportive LemurLepilemur milanoii Louis Jr., Engberg, Lei, Geng, Sommer, Randriamampionona, Randriamanana, Zaonarivelo et al., 2006LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Mananara-Nord Sportive LemurLepilemur hollandorum Ramaromilanto, Lei, Engberg, Johnson, Sitzmann, Louis Jr., 2009LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Black-striped Sportive LemurLepilemur dorsalis Gray, 1870LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Andohahela Sportive LemurLepilemur fleuretae Louis Jr., Engberg, Lei, Geng, Sommer, Randriamampionona, Randriamanana, Zaonarivelo et al., 2006LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Antafia Sportive LemurLepilemur aeeclis Andriaholinirina, Fausser, Roos, Zinner, Thalmann, Rabarivola, Ravaoarimanana et al., 2017LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Seal's Sportive LemurLepilemur seali Louis Jr., Engberg, Lei, Geng, Sommer, Randriamampionona, Randriamanana, Zaonarivelo et al., 2006LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Ambodimahabibo Sportive LemurLepilemur otto Craul, Zimmermann, Rasoloharijaona, Randrianambinina & Radespiel, 2007LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Northern Sportive LemurLepilemur septentrionalis Rumpler & Albignac, 1975LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Bemaraha Sportive LemurLepilemur randrianasoloi Andriaholinirina, Fausser, Roos, Zinner, Thalmann, Rabarivola, Ravaoarimanana et al., 2017LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Milne-Edwards' Sportive LemurLepilemur edwardsi (Forsyth Major in Forbes, 1894)LepilemuridaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 15 records assigned to Lepilemuridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Lepilemur pallidicauda Gray, 1873 Gray, 1873synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Africa

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=572879 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:6PBRY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.