Why are Ring Tailed Lemurs called Lemurs?

Ring-tailed lemurs are called lemurs as it is part of the lemur taxonomic group. The term "lemur" comes from the Latin word "lemures," which refers to spirits or nocturnal phantoms from Roman mythology. It was first applied to these primates by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century, possibly due to their large eyes and nocturnal habits which can lead people to mistaken them for nocturnal phantoms. The name stuck, and "lemur" is now used to refer to the various species of primates within the taxonomic group of Lemuriformes, known collectively as lemurs.