Captive Dwarf and Mouse Lemurs Have Variable Fur Growth.

ABSTRACT: Researchers typically assume constant fur and hair growth for primates, but the few studies that have investigated growth explicitly suggest this may not be the case. Instead, growth may vary considerably among individuals and across seasons. One might expect this variability to be most pronounced for species that have seasonally variable activity patterns (e.g., Madagascar's Cheiorogaleidae). In particular, dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus spp.) undergo considerable changes in their daily activity levels (torpor) in the austral fall, when nights get shorter. I monitored regrowth of shaved fur patches for eight adult captive fat-tailed dwarf lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius) and gray mouse lemurs (Microcebusmurinus) on a bi-weekly basis for 21 months in total. Regrowth varied considerably both within

SUBMITTER: Crowley BE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7460524 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature