The evolutionary history of lemurs occurred in isolation from other primates, on the island of Madagascar, for at least 40 million years. Lemurs are primates belonging to the suborder Strepsirrhini, which branched off from other primates less than 63 mya (million years ago). They share some traits with the most basal primates, and thus are often confused as being ancestral to modern monkeys, apes, and humans.