Verreaux's Sifaka
Propithecus verreauxi
Conservation Status
Critically EndangeredMammalia · Primates · Indriidae
About
Verreaux's sifaka, or the white sifaka, is a medium-sized primate in one of the lemur families, the Indriidae. Critically Endangered, it lives in Madagascar and can be found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to dry deciduous forests of western Madagascar and the spiny thickets of the south. Its fur is thick and silky and generally white with brown on the sides, top of the head, and on the arms; its ventral area is relatively glabrous. Its body is adapted to an arboreal existence in which the major form of locomotion is vertical leaping; on the ground its only means of locomotion is a "dancing" form of hopping. The species lives in smallish groups and is primarily folivorous.
Fun Fact
Verreaux's sifakas move across open ground by 'dancing' — bounding sideways on their hind legs with arms overhead — because their legs are too long relative to their arms for quadrupedal walking.
Quick Facts
Habitat
Dry deciduous forests
Diet
Herbivore
Lifespan
18-20 years
Threats
- Small Population Size
- Wildfire
- Deforestation
- Habitat Fragmentation