Which lemur has a long, striped black-and-white tail?

The lemur with a long, striped black-and-white tail is the ring-tailed lemur. Its scientific name is Lemur catta, and it is native only to Madagascar.

The tail usually carries alternating black and white rings, often numbering about 12 or 13 white rings and 13 or 14 black rings, with a black tip. Although longer than the body, the tail is not prehensile: the lemur cannot use it to grasp branches. Instead, it helps with balance, visual signaling, and keeping a troop together while moving.

Ring-tailed lemurs are highly social and may live in troops of up to 30 individuals. Females generally dominate males, an arrangement that is common among lemurs. The species is also unusually terrestrial for a living lemur, spending substantial time walking and foraging on the ground in southern Madagascar’s forests and spiny scrub.

The tail pattern is the key identification clue. Other lemurs may have long tails, but the sharply alternating rings belong characteristically to the ring-tailed lemur.