Three New Lemurs
Posted by: Loren Coleman on June 21st, 2006
Three New Lemurs Named in Madagascar
Conservation International
June 21, 2006
To recognize an internationally renowned primatologist and champion of Madagascar’s unique biodiversity, scientists who discovered three new species of mouse lemur on the island nation have named one in honor of Russell A. Mittermeier, the president of Conservation International.
Mittermeier, the longtime chair of the IUCN Primate Special Group, is an expert on Madagascar and its lemurs, the distinctive primates found nowhere else on Earth. He is the lead author of “Lemurs of Madagascar,” a comprehensive field guide on the country’s flagship species.
His efforts inspired researcher Mireya Mayor to shift her scientific focus to Madagascar, and she was part of the team that discovered the three new mouse lemurs that were officially named in a paper published in June by the International Journal of Primatology. One of the new species is named Microcebus mittermeieri, or Mittermeier’s Mouse Lemur.
The other two named in the paper are Microcebus jollyae (Jolly’s Mouse Lemur), for Alison Jolly, a pioneering lemur researcher from Princeton University, and Microcebus simmonsi (Simmons’ Mouse Lemur), for Dr. Lee Simmons, director of the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska.
Mireya Mayor with a mouse lemur. Photo Credit: Mark Thiessen/National Geographic Society.
Mayor’s first research grant came from Mittermeier, and the discoveries by Mayor, Dr. Edward Louis and their Malagasy team occurred shortly before Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana declared his visionary conservation policy in 2003 to triple Madagascar’s protected areas – including vital lemur habitat.
“I consider it a great honor to have a primate species named after me, and, given my life-long interest in Madagascar, I am especially pleased that it is a lemur. Other scientific discoveries come and go, but a new species becomes a permanent part of the scientific record, and will be with us forever,” Mittermeier said. “I am also delighted that this species is found in one of the highest priority areas for conservation in Madagascar, and that its discovery provides yet another justification for protecting the important Anjanaharibe-Sud Reserve.”
Mayor, a Fulbright scholar, National Geographic correspondent and former Miami Dolphins cheerleader, went to Madagascar after reading an article in a magazine about Mittermeier and his work with lemurs. The lemur that now bears Mittermeier’s name was discovered by Mayor and her colleagues on an expedition to study another lemur, the Critically Endangered silky sifaka. Mouse lemurs are the smallest primates in the world, and the newest discoveries join the family of primates that represent Madagascar internationally.
“Finding an entirely new species of lemur living in the wild in the 21st Century shows how little we know about our natural world, and how important it is to protect it,” Mayor said. “This tiny creature has become a huge ambassador for all things wild in Madagascar, and that is truly remarkable.”
Source: News release from Conservation International.
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Loren Coleman no longer writes for Cryptomundo. His archived posts remain here at Cryptomundo.
Great story. The facial features on the mouse lemur in the photos make it look like a baby mouse lemur unless they are that cute as adults.
That is sooooooooooooo cute!
Another find in the wild how about that! And yes you have to admit the little bugger is cute. Makes you think what will we find next out in the wild I hope the big fellow myself right here in our own back yard so to speak anyway.
I like to move it move it.
It’s time for our daily cynical pot-shot…if they found new species in Madagascar…then of course there is NO way there could be bipedal things wandering the vast waste lands of North America (and a double dozen other places) nor (dare I say it) large 20+ foot long creatures swimming in the oceans, seas and lakes of the world…because we simply have explored the earth and such things cannot exist.
I remember seeing the special on National Geographic Channel about Mayor discovering that first unknown mouse lemur. I just remember thinking that I DEFINITELY wouldn’t mind having her along on one of my expeditions.
The Mouse lemur in the second photo seems to have quite an opinion about cameras and people
I want one. Hands down, I want that Lemur!! He’d be my Bigfoot Huntin’ pal!
“Lemur! Quick! Attach this thermal lense to the branch!”
It could be done. ::nod nod::
I agree with Lesley it’s cute