Description
Being sexually dichromatic, the male of the species exhibits a medium-long dense dorsal coat of intense chestnut brown. Ventrally he is lighter and redder in hue, while his tail, muzzle and head are black. For the female, the dorsal area and tail resemble the male, whereas the ventral fur is a contrasting white-cream colour. Facial markings are similar to the male, except that "tear drops" are less exaggerated and spiry thick cheek hairs of the male are absent. Whereas the Eulemur genus relatives may exhibit ear tufts or a furry beard, these features are absent for Eulemur rubriventer, which has thickened fur around its ears, lending a fuller facial appearance.
The adult red-bellied lemur has a length of 34 to 40 centimetres (13.4 to 15.7 in) (excluding tail) and a tail length which is almost twenty percent longer than the body itself; that is, body plus tail length may attain a total length of almost one meter. Typical body mass of a mature individual ranges from 1.6 to 2.4 kilograms (3.5 to 5.3 lb). The male has scent glands atop his head. Lifespans may easily exceed twenty years for both sexes.
Read more about this topic: Red-bellied Lemur
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“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)