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Lemurs in the News

Two new species of lemur have been found in Madagascar, bringing the number of known species to 49.

German and Malagasy scientists made the discovery by analysing the genetic make-up of wild lemurs.

Lemurs are considered the most endangered of all primates and live only on Madagascar which has evolved in isolation for 165 million years.

As a result, the island is now home to mammals, birds and plants that exist nowhere else on our planet.

The first new species is a giant mouse lemur known as Mirza zaza. It has a long bushy tail and is about the size of a grey squirrel.

Until now, scientists believed only one type of giant mouse lemur existed, split into two populations in the west and the north of the island.

But morphological, genetic and behavioural data shows they are in fact distinct species which diverged about two million years ago.

Physical Characteristics

Lemurs are primates endemic to the island of Madagascar and smaller surrounding islands, such as the Comoros, where they were likely introduced by humans. Molecular genetics indicates that they reached Madagascar after it broke away from mainland Africa, possibly by "rafting" across the ocean on large clumps of vegetation. While their ancestors were displaced in the rest of the world by monkeys and apes, the lemurs were safe from competition on Madagascar and differentiated into a number of species. These range in size from the tiny 30 gram (1 oz) Pygmy Mouse Lemur to the 10 kilogram (22 lb) Indri. Larger species, some of which weighed up to 240 kg, have all become extinct since humans settled on Madagascar. Typically, the smaller lemurs are nocturnal, while the larger ones are diurnal.

Classifications

The 4 families of lemurs are split into two superfamilies, containing 99 species and subspecies. The Cheirogaleidae have a pedal structure similar to the other strepsirrhine families and the haplorrhines, suggesting they split off from the other lemurs first citation needed] As such, the Cheirogaleoidea are a sister clade to the Lemuroidea.

Female Dominance

Many, but not all, lemur species exhibit female dominance, which is a very rare social structure in mammals, and it is only observed consistently in hyenas and lemurs. In species where this occurs, adult males exhibit submissive behavior to adult females in social settings, such as feeding, grooming, and sleeping site priority. Interestingly, most lemurs do not exhibit sexual dimorphism, but it remains unclear what role size and strength play in male deference. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of female dominance, there is still no single hypothesis that can fully explain female social dominance in lemurs at this time and each hypothesis is likely to play a role. Female social dominance was first observed in the Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta). Since then, many, but not all, species of lemurs have been found to demonstrate female social dominance including the Crowned Lemur (Eulemur coronatus) and the Gray Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus).

Conservation

Most lemurs are listed as endangered or threatened species. Many species have gone extinct in the last centuries, mainly due to habitat destruction (deforestation) and hunting. Conservation of lemurs in Madagascar is a high priority, but the country's poor economic situation and the lemurs' limited range make it an uphill battle. In 2008, a total of 99 living lemur species were formally recognized, with more species likely to be discovered or differentiated in the future.

One of the foremost lemur research facilities is the Duke Lemur Center. Also, Idea Wild (ideawild.org) has contributed to some projects on the conservation of different areas in Madagascar to prevent further deforestation. For example, the natives of Madagascar use a technique known as "slash and burn" to eliminate their previous year's crops. This, however, destroys the habitat of the lemurs and other animals in Madagascar. Idea Wild helps natives find other ways to restore their crops without using such volatile methods.