AnimalsLemurs are found in the wild only on the island of Madagascar. The ring-tailed lemur has a long black and white striped tail, which it holds up like a flag so the group can stay together. It likes to sit facing the morning sun.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Lemur catta
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Herbivore (eats plants)
- Lives in
- Madagascar
- Habitat
- Dry forest and scrub
- A young one is called
- infant or pup
- A group is called
- troop or conspiracy
- Conservation status
- Endangered
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Primates
- Family Lemuridae
- Genus Lemur
- Species Lemur catta
More distant relatives in the order Primates: Bornean orangutan, chimpanzee, northern plains gray langur, rhesus macaque, Western gorilla.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The ring-tailed lemur is listed as Endangered. The species faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.