Add Animal
    Mammals
    Mammals Birds Amphibians Reptiles Animals Ray-finned fishes Myxini – Hagfishes Petromyz' – Lampreys Sharks & rays Holocep' – Chimaeras Dipneusti – Lungfish Coelac' – Coelacanths Insecta – Insects / bugs Gastropoda – Snails & slugs Cephalopoda – Squids & octopuses Arachnida – Spiders & scorpions Malacostraca – Malacostracans Diplopoda – Millipedes Bivalvia – Marine molluscs Chilopoda – Centipedes Pycnogonida – Sea spiders Merostomata – Horseshoe crabs More Classes
    Filters

    Regions

    See AllSelect

    Habitat

    See AllSelect

    Daubentoniidae – Giant aye-aye

    Thought to be extinct in 1933, it was rediscovered in 1957

    The Aye-aye is a lemur with unusually long fingers; it lives in the jungles of Madagascar. It has a distinct look and is the biggest species of nocturnal primate. At the time of its discovery, scientists classified it as a giant squirrel. Given that its closest lemur cousins are still a mystery even today, the aye-aye was placed in its own group and was not included in the lemur family until the mid-1800s.

    However, over a substantial portion of their native habitat, these scarce species are in grave jeopardy. By 1980, it was widely assumed that aye-ayes had become extinct, primarily due to locals’ habit of shooting them dead at sight out of superstition.