Abstract
The mating behavior of ring-tailed lemurs at Berenty, Madagascar, was observed in April 1982. Although Troop A included five adult females, only two were observed to mate. The mating period covered two consecutive days, April 24 and 25. Each female was receptive for about 4 hr. Data from 47 copulations, of which 38 were with ejaculation, suggest that to be the first mating partner is of importance for male ring-tailed lemurs. Previously it has been suggested that male dominance is of little significance in determining mating partners. In this investigation it was observed that the second most dominant male MK was always the first mating partner. Only after several ejaculations and resultant fatigue did he lose possession of the female to lower ranking males, and the first ranking male was not seen to copulate with either female at any time. These results suggest that a male's mating success is partly, but not completely correlated with his dominance rank, and that other factors, including his length of residence in the group and female choice, also determine patterns of mating.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altmann, J., 1974. Observational study of behavior: sampling methods.Behaviour, 49: 227–267.
Andrew, R. J., 1963. The origin and evolution of the calls and facial expressions of the primates.Behaviour, 20: 1–109.
Budnitz, N. &K. Dainis, 1975.Lemur catta: Ecology and behavior. In:Lemur Biology,I. Tattersall &R. W. Sussman (eds.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 219–235.
Dewsbury, D. A., 1982. Dominance rank, copulatory behavior, and differential reproduction.Q. Rev. Biol., 57: 135–159.
Evans, C. S. &R. W. Goy, 1968. Social behaviour and reproductive cycles in captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta).J. Zool., 156: 181–197.
Harrington, J. E., 1975. Field observations of social behavior ofLemur fulvus fulvus E. Geoffroy 1812. In:Lemur Biology,I. Tattersall &R. W. Sussman (eds.), Plenum Press, New York, pp. 259–279.
Iason, G. R. &F. E. Guinness, 1985. Synchrony of estrus and conception in red deer (Cervus elaphus L).Anim. Behav., 33: 1169–1174.
Jolly, A., 1966.Lemur Behavior: A Madagascar Field Study. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago.
, 1967. Breeding synchrony in wildLemur catta. In:Social Communication Among Primates.S. A. Altmann (ed.), Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 3–14.
Kawamichi, T., M. Kawamichi, &R. Kishimoto, 1987. Social organizations of solitary mammals. In:Animal Societies: Theories and Facts.Y. Ito, J. L. Brown, &J. Kikkawa (eds.), Japan Scientific Societies Press, Tokyo, pp. 173–188.
Petter, J.-J., 1965. The lemurs of Madagascar. In:Primate Behavior,I. DeVoer (ed.), Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, Inc., New York, pp. 292–319.
Richard, A., 1974. Patterns of mating inPropithecus verreauxi verreauxi. In:Prosimian Biology,R. D. Martin,G. A. Doyle, &A. C. Walker (eds.), Gerald Duckworth, London, pp. 49–74.
, 1978.Behavioral Variation: Case Study of a Malagasy Lemur. Associated Univ. Press, New Jersey.
Strum, S. C., 1982. Agonistic dominance in male baboons: An alternative view.Int. J. Primatol., 3(2): 175–202.
van Horn, R. N. &G. G. Eaton, 1979. Reproductive physiology and behavior in prosimians. In:The Study of Prosimian Behavior,G. A. Doyle &R. D. Martin (eds.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 79–122.
&J. A. Resko, 1977. The reproductive cycle of the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta): Sex steroid levels and sexual receptivity under controlled photoperiods.Endocrinology, 101: 1579–1586.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Koyama, N. Mating behavior of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at Berenty, Madagascar. Primates 29, 163–175 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381120
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02381120