Indridae

Silky sifakas Propithecus diadema candidus, photographed by Jeff Gibbs.

Belongs within: Lemuriformes.

The Indridae is a family of lemurs including the indri (Indri indri), woolly lemurs (Avahi) and sifakas (Propithecus). They characterised by a relatively low number of teeth compared to other lemurs, and hind legs that are significantly longer than the forelegs.

See also: There he goes! (Taxon of the Week: Indriidae); Why are there so many avahis?

Characters (from Mivart 1866): Dental formula I2/2, C1/1, P2/2, I3/3. Ears short; muzzle long, moderate or short; hind legs much longer than fore limbs; index very short, much shorter than fifth digit; pollex short and placed far back; hallux very long and covered with hair; tail long, or very short and rudimentary; internal condyle of the humerus perforated; carpus destitute of an os intermedium; tarsus short; first upper molar with four large and four small prominences, no internal cingulum; last upper molar with two large anterior cusps and three very small posterior prominences; each lower incisor with its outer surface longitudinally grooved; lower premolar much antero-posteriorly extended; first lower molar with four or five cusps; last lower molar quinquecuspid; paramastoid process present; malar foramen absent; lachrymal foramen very near margin of orbit; masseteric surface of malar wide and ridged; process depending from zygoma just in front of, and external to, glenoid surface; postglenoidal foramen present; anterior palatine foramina very large; mandibular symphysis very long; condyle rounded, not transversely extended; articular surface prolonged somewhat down the back of ascending ramus; digastric fossa deep.

Indridae [Indriidae, Indriinae, Indrisinae]
    |--Indri indri IT07
    |--Mesopropithecus Standing 1905 [incl. Neopropithecus Lamberton 1937] AC98
    |    |--*M. pithecoides Standing 1905 AC98
    |    `--M. globiceps (Lamberton 1939) [incl. M. platyfrons] AC98
    |--Microrhynchus M66 [incl. Avahi Jourdan 1834 M66, N10, Semnocebus Lesson 1840 N10]
    |    `--M. laniger M66 (see below for synonymy)
    |         |--M. l. laniger PRM84
    |         `--‘Avahi’ l. occidentalis PRM84
    `--Propithecus Bennet 1832 M66, SKS05
         |--P. diadema M66
         |    |--P. d. diadema BP87
         |    |--P. d. candidus PRM84
         |    |--P. d. edwardsi G91
         |    |--P. d. holomelas G91
         |    `--P. d. perrieri BP87
         |--P. tattersalli Y94
         `--P. verreauxi IT07
              |--P. v. verreauxi [incl. P. v. majori] G91
              |--P. v. coquereli G91
              |--P. v. coronatus BP87
              `--P. v. deckeni BP87

Microrhynchus laniger M66 [=Lemur laniger M66, Avahi laniger IT07, Avahis laniger M66, Indri laniger M66, Indris laniger M66, Lichanotus laniger M66, Semnocebus laniger M66; incl. Li. avahi M66, S. avahi M66, Lemur lanatus M66, Hadrocebus lanatus M66, Indris longicaudatus M66]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AC98] Alcover, J. A., X. Campillo, M. Macias & A. Sans. 1998. Mammal species of the world: additional data on insular mammals. American Museum Novitates 3248: 1-29.

[BP87] Burton, J. A., & B. Pearson. 1987. Collins Guide to the Rare Mammals of the World. Collins: London.

[G91] Groves, C. P. 1991. A Theory of Human and Primate Evolution, revised ed. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

[IT07] Isaac, N. J. B., S. T. Turvey, B. Collen, C. Waterman & J. E. M. Baillie. 2007. Mammals on the EDGE: conservation priorities based on threat and phylogeny. PloS One 2 (3): e296.

[M66] Mivart, St. G. J. 1866. On the structure and affinities of Microrhynchus laniger. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 151-167.

[N10] Naish, D. 2010. Tetrapod Zoology: Book One. CFZ Press: Bideford (UK).

[PRM84] Pollock, J. I., A. F. Richard & R. D. Martin. 1984. Lemurs. In All the World’s Animals: Primates (D. Macdonald, ed.) pp. 24-35. Torstar Books: New York.

[SKS05] Scherf, H., B. Koller & F. Schrenk. 2005. Locomotion-related structures in the femoral trabecular architecture of primates and insectivores (Mammalia, Primates and Insectivora). Senckenbergiana Biologica 85 (1): 101-112.

[Y94] Yoder, A. D. 1994. Relative position of the Cheirogaleidae in strepsirhine phylogeny: a comparison of morphological and molecular methods and results. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 94: 25-46.