Several taxonomically distinct mammalian groups-certain microbats and cetaceans (e.g., dolphins)-share both morphological adaptations related to echolocation behavior and strong signatures of convergent evolution at the amino acid level across seven genes related to auditory processing. Aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) are nocturnal lemurs with a specialized auditory processing system. A...

Arboreal animals with prehensile hands must balance the complex demands of bone strength, grasping and manipulation. An informative example of this problem is that of the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), a rare lemuriform primate that is unusual in having exceptionally long, gracile fingers specialized for foraging. In addition, they are among the largest primates to engage in head-first...

OF THE THESIS Diurnal Evidence of a Nocturnal Feeder: Using Feeding Traces to Understand Aye-Ayes’ Feeding Strategy in Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar by Timothy Mikhail Sefczek Master of Arts in Anthropology San Diego State University, 2009 This thesis explores the feeding strategy of aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) before and during the pronounced fruiting season of Canarium sp. ...

The capacity for cone-mediated color vision varies among nocturnal primates. Some species are colorblind, having lost the functionality of their short-wavelength-sensitive-1 (SWS1) opsin pigment gene. In other species, such as the aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis), the SWS1 gene remains intact. Recent studies focused on aye-ayes indicate that this gene has been maintained by natural select...

Recent reports suggest that dietary ethanol, or alcohol, is a supplemental source of calories for some primates. For example, slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang) consume fermented nectars with a mean alcohol concentration of 0.6% (range: 0.0-3.8%). A similar behaviour is hypothesized for aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) based on a single point mutation (A294V) in the gene that encodes alco...

Several taxonomically distinct mammalian groups – certain microbats and cetaceans (e.g. dolphins) – share both morphological adaptations related to echolocation behavior and strong signatures of convergent evolution at the amino acid level across seven genes related to auditory 35 processing. Aye-ayes (Daubentonia madagascariensis) are nocturnal lemurs with a derived auditory processing system....

We performed a population genomics study of the aye-aye, a highly specialized nocturnal lemur from Madagascar. Aye-ayes have low population densities and extensive range requirements that could make this flagship species particularly susceptible to extinction. Therefore, knowledge of genetic diversity and differentiation among aye-aye populations is critical for conservation planning. Such info...