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aye-aye

The aye-aye (, Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger that they can use to catch grubs and larvae out of tree trunks.

AI overview

The aye-aye is a long-fingered lemur native to Madagascar that has rodent-like teeth that never stop growing and a uniquely thin middle finger it uses to extract grubs and larvae from inside tree trunks. It represents an unusual evolutionary adaptation among primates, combining specialized physical features that allow it to fill a ecological niche typically occupied by rodents in other parts of the world.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Species

Maximum longevity: 23.3 years (captivity) Observations: One captive specimen lived 23.3 years at Amsterdam Zoo (Richard Weigl 2005).

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: taxon
Parent taxon: Daubentonia
Mass: +2.5
Image: Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), Tsimbazaza Zoo, Madagascar (3897947810).jpg

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P105: species
P141: Endangered status
P183: Madagascar
P1343

Article

13 sections

Contents

Etymology
Evolutionary history and taxonomy
Anatomy and morphology
Behaviour and lifestyle
Diet and foraging
Social systems
Distribution and habitat
Conservation
Folk belief
Captive breeding
References
Literature cited
External links

It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. It is characterized by its unusual method of finding food: it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood using its forward-slanting incisors to create a small hole into which it inserts its narrow middle finger to pull the grubs out. This foraging method is called percussive foraging, and takes up 5–41% of foraging time. The only other living mammal species known to find food in this way are the striped possum and trioks (genus Dactylopsila) of northern Australia and New Guinea, which are marsupials. From an ecological perspective, the aye-aye fills the niche of a woodpecker, as it is capable of penetrating wood to extract the invertebrates within.