Parasites of nine lemur species at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar
Studies of primate parasites are important due to their implications for the ecology and conservation of the host species. While apes and monkeys have been well studied and reported within the primate literature in this regard, similar investigations among lemurs and other prosimians remain relatively underrepresented. This study reports the internal and external parasites of nine lemur host species (Propithecus diadema edwardsi, Avahi laniger, Eulemur rubiventer, Eulemur fulvus rufus, Varecia variegata variegata, Hapalemur simus, Hapalemur griseus griseus, Hapalemur aureus, Lepilemur spp.) at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. All nine species were found to be host to at least one parasite. Three of the species (E. rubiventer, H. aureus, H. simus) have no previously reported parasites in the literature. These findings are in contrast to previous studies that found complete absence of internal parasites in other Propithecus species and add to the ecological knowledge of nine endangered or threatened lemur species.