The black lemur is unique among lemurs in that males and females are different colors. Its name comes from the coloration of the male, which is uniformly black, while the female is a dark brown to rust color with white undersides. This difference in appearance is so striking that for years males and females were thought to be different species. The fur is luxuriant and the ears are lavishly tufted with long hair, which is black in males and white in females. No comprehensive surveys have been done, but it is estimated that there may be more than 10,000 black lemurs surviving in the wild.
Black lemurs are limited to the extreme northwestern tip of Madagascar and a few outlying islands.
Like most lemurs, black lemurs are social. They live in groups of 7 to 10 related individuals. They are omnivores, feeding on ripe fruit, leaves, flowers, insects, and the occasional small vertebrate . Because of their fruit-eating, transient ways, lemurs are important agents of seed dispersal through their droppings. Lemurs also are hunted for food and captured for pet trade or zoos.