Microcebus jonahi, or Jonah's mouse lemur, is a tiny species of primate. It weighs 60 g (2.1 oz) and has a body length of around 13 cm (5.1 in) and its tail measures around 13 cm as well. It is the 25th recognized species of mouse lemur and the 108th recognized species of lemur.[3][4][5]
| Microcebus jonahi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Strepsirrhini |
| Family: | Cheirogaleidae |
| Genus: | Microcebus |
| Species: | M. jonahi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Microcebus jonahi Schüssler et al., 2020[2]
| |
Description
editJonah's mouse lemur has small ears and the characteristic huge eyes of lemurs with a distinct white stripe between the eyes. It has short, dense fur with a white with slightly yellowish belly and a brownish back.[6] It weighs 60 g (2.1 oz) and has a body length of around 13 cm (5.1 in) and its tail measures around 13 cm as well.[3]
Distribution
editJonah's mouse lemur lives in northeastern Madagascar, including within the protected Mananara National Park. The species was named after Malagasy primatologist Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy.[3]
Conservation status
editThe forested area in the region where the Jonah's mouse lemur is found is undergoing massive deforestation. In northeast Madagascar, forest cover declined from 12,039 km2 (4,648 sq mi) in the early 1990s to 7,501 km2 (2,896 sq mi) in 2018. Once an uninterrupted stretch of rainforest, it has been whittled down to fragments. The fragmentation is expected to intensify, stranding the mouse lemurs, curtailing their access to food, and narrowing their genetic diversity.[7]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ "Checklist of CITES Species". CITES. UNEP-WCMC. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ Schüßler, Dominik; Blanco, Marina B.; Salmona, Jordi; Poelstra, Jelmer; Andriambeloson, Jean B.; Miller, Alex; Randrianambinina, Blanchard; Rasolofoson, David W.; Mantilla‐Contreras, Jasmin; Chikhi, Lounès; Louis, Edward E.; Yoder, Anne D.; Radespiel, Ute (2020). "Ecology and morphology of mouse lemurs ( Microcebus spp.) in a hotspot of microendemism in northeastern Madagascar, with the description of a new species". American Journal of Primatology. 82 (9): e23180. doi:10.1002/ajp.23180. PMID 32716088. S2CID 220797785.
- ^ a b c "New species alert: meet Jonah's mouse lemur!". Duke Lemur Center. 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ Schüßler et al., 2020.
- ^ Poelstra, Salmona, Tiley et al., 2021.
- ^ "New lemur discovered in Madagascar is already a threatened species". RFI. 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- ^ "Say hello to Madagascar's newest mouse lemur, a pint-sized primate". Mongabay Environmental News. 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
References
edit- Schüßler, D., Blanco, M. B., Salmona, J., Poelstra, J., Andriambeloson, J. B., Miller, A., ... & Radespiel, U. (2020). Ecology and morphology of mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) in a hotspot of microendemism in northeastern Madagascar, with the description of a new species. American Journal of Primatology, 82(9), e23180. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajp.23180
- Poelstra, J. W., Salmona, J., Tiley, G. P., Schüßler, D., Blanco, M. B., Andriambeloson, J. B., ... & Yoder, A. D. (2021). Cryptic patterns of speciation in cryptic primates: microendemic mouse lemurs and the multispecies coalescent. Systematic Biology, 70(2), 203-218. https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/70/2/203/5869053?login=true