Family of the Week: The Spiny Lemurs

 These are the only pentadactyls that developed spines of one kind or another on their body. These spines may be like mere whisker material that grew on the body, or may be thick, but they are always sharp and used for self-defense. Most species in the Echilemuridae are large, lazy, ground-dwelling species. Nothing like their closest relatives, the Chirosapidae.  There are a few tree-dwelling species in this family, and they can be characterized by having sparse, or small patches of spines. Whereas the large ground-dwelling species have more and larger patches of spines. In some cases, even covering the entire body. Though the species in the subfamily Lipoechininae, which includes Lipoechinus and Senzispina, are also large lemurs and their spines more resemble whiskers. They are also faster runners than other large members of this family.

These animals range in size from the tiny, nectar-eating honey lemurs (Setaglossus) to the large Pachysetus lemur that inhabits most of Eurasia. However, Desmaturus has the largest tail spikes of any mammal ever. With the tail spikes, Desmaturus can weigh nearly a ton. The spikes are used for self-defense, as they use their powerful tails to swaft these huge spikes at any attacking predators. The largest of the spikes are the two on the tip of the tail, which can be as much as 8 feet tall. 

The feet of these lemurs is probably their most unique feature. They still have all 5 toes and fingers, but they are not flexible in the ground-dwelling species. They are instead designed to support the weight of the body, and more closely resemble hooves, as seen in aardvarks and elephants. The thumb and auricular fingers are greatly reduced, leaving the 3 middle fingers to be used for supporting the weight of the animals. The same with the rear feet. The tree-dwellers in this group have appendages like all other lemurs, and are built for grasping and leaping. All species in this family feed on vegetation, and occasionally insects. Insects are usually ingested by accident, but provide a bit of protein in their diet.

The species of Flialia are small, tree-dwellers, and have the loudest calls of any pentadactyl. The territorial calls can resemble a series of echoing barks that may be long, or short. The shorter barks, a stringing "bar-bar-bar-bar-barrr", are usually uttered in a series of 5-7 at a time, while the long barks, a loud "barrrr", may last as long as 4 seconds each. Females are dominant in their society, and are the ones who sound off the short barks. The longer barks are usually uttered by both males and females. When alarmed, Flialia simply utters a large screeching sound, "shriiiiii", which may be heard for several miles. Like all other members of this family, Flialia is active entirely in the daytime.

Unlike the closely-related family Chirosapidae, Echilemurids are not confined to the Old World. There are several species that live in the Americas, and even into Canada. The genus Ericius inhabits the entire Cascade Mountain chain, from northern California to Alaska. It is also one of the largest lemurs in the New World. Ericius is characterized by having a row of spikes up and down the spine and short spikes on the tail. They are not runners or climbers, but very highly aggressive fighters. They maliciously attack anything they perceive as a threat.

The eyes of these lemurs, especially those of the larger, ground-dwelling species, are set further apart on the head than in other pentadactyls. This gives them the same binocular vision in other pentadactyls, as well as the ability to scan the horizon while they feed. Though unlike in ungulates, these lemurs cannot see that far on the side, and do not have the ability to see behind them. The tree-dwellers are built like all other pentadactyls, with their eyes facing completely forward. Predators of these lemurs include snakes, predatory bats, larger lemurs like Bromista, mongooses and deinognathids. The Barofelids may take young of these lemurs, dogs may also prey on these lemurs.