The Aye-Aye Madagascar

Residing in the jungles of Madagascar, the Aye-aye is a very unique creature in the Animalia kingdom and is the only member of its family classification. Since the Aye-aye has such a unique physique, it was originally classified as a rodent, but is now considered a to be a specialized lemur. Once thought to be extinct, the Aye-Aye is now being more adequately studied but researchers, biologists, and scientists alike. The Aye-Aye is a unique species of Lemur dwelling in the rainforests of Madagascar. Originally thought to be a large species of Squirrel, The Aye-Aye is the largest nocturnal primate in the world. So, the Aye-Aye belongs to Kingdom Animalia, because it is a multicellular organism, and since it has a notochord, cartilaginous skeletal rod supporting the body, that supports its body, it is placed in the Phylum Chordata and Clade Synapsida (Yoder, pg. 1339-1341). The Aye-Aye’s Class is Mammalia due to its fur, mammary glands,

While they do primarily inhabit the dense tropical and coastal rainforests, due to their thick cover, they also have been known to reside in secondary forests, bamboo thickets, mangroves, and on occasion have been spotted in coconut groves (Gron, npg.). The reason the Aye-Aye inhabits forests is due to its behavior and lifestyle; the Aye-Aye is a nocturnal creature, spending the day sleeping in nests, which are roughly 9 meters apart from each other, built in tree branches, that are constructed out of the foliage from the trees. Must of the time the Aye-Aye resides in the two highest levels of the forest canopy, while the lower levels are reserved mostly to move from tree to tree (Gron, npg.). Upon nightfall the Aye-Aye emerges from its nests to groom itself and repair any damage the nest may have sustained, but after this the Aye-Aye will begin their hunt for