Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

Madagascar (from Andriaholinirina et al. 2014 unless otherwise noted)

• Broadest distribution of any living lemur (Mittermeier et al. 2010)
• Present in fragmented pockets across nearly all coastal areas
• Concentrated in eastern, northern and central-western portions of the island

Introduced populations

• Established on 2 islands off Madagascar's coast
• Nosy Mangabe in the Bay of Antongil
• Ile Roger, also known as "Aye-aye Island"

Forest inhabitants (from Schwitzer et al. 2013)

• Preferred forest types
  • Found in rainforest, deciduous forest, littoral forest, and mature and degraded secondary forest
  • Not found in spiny forest; historically home to the now extinct giant aye-aye species

Other habitat associations (from Schwitzer et al. 2013)

• Take advantage of agricultural land 
  • Sugar cane, coconut, and clove plantations
• Associated with ramy trees, though not exclusively (Canarium spp.) (Mittermeier et al. 2010)
• Enter mangrove swamps and dry scrub forest

Adaptable (from Schwitzer et al. 2013)

• Present across a broad range of climates
  • Distributional range experiences marked variation in temperature and rainfall patterns

Elevation range

• 0-1,875 m (6,152 ft) (Andriaholinirina et al. 2014)

Aye-aye distribution.

Adapted from www-d.-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).

Andriaholinirina et al. (2014)
Mittermeier et al. (2010)
Schwitzer et al. (2013)