indris

British  

/ ˈɪndrɪ, ˈɪndrɪs /

noun

1. a large Madagascan arboreal lemuroid primate, Indri indri, with thick silky fur patterned in black, white, and fawn: family Indriidae

2. a related nocturnal Madagascan animal, Avahi laniger, with thick grey-brown fur and a long tail

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Etymology

Origin of indris

C19: from French: lemur, from Malagasy indry! look! mistaken for the animal's name

Example Sentences

Exploring our commonalities with indris is helping to demystify the evolutionary origins of human music, but it is also bringing much-needed attention to these lemurs who are of incredible cultural importance to the Malagasy people.

From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2021

From recordings of 346 lemur duets and choruses, Ravignani extracted 636 individual sounds uttered by the 39 adult indris, 20 females and 19 males.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 25, 2021

As scientists attempt to untangle why primates began using music, hearing the songs of wild indris will be crucial.

From Scientific American • Oct. 25, 2021

Whether this musical overlap between humans and indris is a case of common ancestry or convergent evolution — where our rhythmic abilities evolved independently — remains unclear.

From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2021

Although indris and human composers may utilize some similar structures, each likely developed musical abilities on their own.

From Scientific American • Oct. 25, 2021