Skull Island: A Documentation of the Most Terrifying Place on Earth

by SomethingWittyIGuess

In the summer of 1889, a British Naval ship sails from India to Australia, however a tropical storm causes it to wash up on a lost island in the Indian Ocean. The crew dubs the landmass Skull Island and they take note of the odd and even deadly fauna and flora that call this place home. Since then, several expeditions were made to explore this land and what lived there.

58. The Robber Lemurs

The Robber Lemur (Paradoxindiris sp.)

Though primates aren't the most plentiful mammal order on Skull Island, many of the island's most well-known fauna are members of this order. While the Kong and endemic human species are the most notable Skull Island primates, there are many other equally fascinating members, from tarsiers to pongids, each one with its own unique set of bizarre traits (from the cursorial nature of the Hordeleaper, to the Desert Shrieker's ability to fly for a short period of time). But perhaps the strangest of Skull Island's primates is the Robber Lemur (Paradoxindiris sp.), an animal that appears to be very far from home.

The Robber Lemur is an animal with a rich and storied evolutionary history. True to their name, they are in fact true lemurs (the only ones found naturally outside of Madagascar), with close genetic analyses showing that they are a very primitive member of this group of primates. The current hypothesis regarding their origin is that, during the early Eocene (when parts of Skull Island were still attached to Madagascar), the first lemurs that migrated from Africa to the large island also ended up on the landmass's eastern side, part of which would break up due to volcanism and tectonic plate movement and crash into other landmasses to form what would become Skull Island. Since then, these early lemurs would give rise to a new genus (Paradoxindiris), which currently boasts four extant species, each one inhabiting different biomes on the island; the Common Robber Lemur (Paradoxindiris vulgaris), the Pygmy Robber Lemur (Paradoxindiris pygmaeus), the Montane Robber Lemur (Paradoxindiris giganteus), and the Golden Robber Lemur (Paradoxindiris arachnophagus). For simplicity's sake, this entry will primarily focus on the Common Robber Lemur (the holotype species), which is found in the lowland rainforests of Skull Island (though the other three will be further detailed afterwards).

The Common Robber Lemur is a medium-sized lemuriforme prosimian with an average weight of 15-20 kg. Males are characterized by their jet black fur, while females can be identified by their ashy-grey fur (both sexes possess large golden eyes for seeing in the dark). All four species of robber lemur live in small matriarchal groups, with a lead female in charge of other females and males often roaming together in bachelor groups.

Like other members of their genus, these lemurs are primarily nocturnal, coming out at night to feast on a trove of different food sources (these indifferent omnivores feed on leaves, fruit, flowers, nectar, insects, lizards, frogs, eggs, small mammals, and carrion). These mischievous and intelligent primates get their name from their tendency to steal eggs from oviparous animals (such as birds, turtles, and crocodilians), which act as excellent sources of protein and cholesterol. Likewise, to obtain their nutritious bounty, they've been documented using deceit and tools to drive mothers away from their eggs (one method that was studied was a lemur throwing a decently-large stick into the bushes to frighten a mother Dire Crocodile away from her clutch). Other feats of their expansive intellect include using twigs to pry insect larvae out of wood, following pollinating bees back to their hive to extract honey and wax, and cracking hard-shelled fruits and seeds open with stones.

Regarding the other species, they are almost identical to the Common Robber Lemur in terms of behavior, but each one does have its own unique appearance and some key differences in mannerisms. The Pygmy Robber Lemur of the actively volcanic Tiger Island can weigh up to 5-10 kg, with their coloration being slightly lighter in tone than the Common species. The Montane Robber Lemur (which lurks in the treetops of the island's montane cloud forests) also has similar coloration to the Common and Pygmy species, but they weigh, on average 20-26 kg and their coats are slightly denser and woolier to deal with occasional cold snaps. Finally, the 12-16 kg Golden Robber Lemur (found in the island's semi-desert) boasts dark yellow males and sandy brown females and is the most differentiated of the four species (they sport thick pads on their palms and soles to clamber across spiny succulent plants and their diet consists mainly of arthropods, with arachnids like spiders and solifugids being their preferred prey sources).

Author's Note: The Robber Lemurs are based on the Burglar Monkey, a nocturnal lorisiforme primate detailed in The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island.