3 new species of lemurs in Madagascar by Hotel★★★ Restaurant gourmand Majunga.
Lemurs are undoubtedly the most famous animals of Madagascar. Considered as the ancestors of monkeys, more exactly as of distant cousins.
The families of lemurs and has 36 species, of which the vast majority is on the Red Island.
In contrast to Africa where the lemurs have disappeared against the competition with other primates, those of Madagascar could evolve peacefully on this large remote island. It is believed that lemurs first arrived in Madagascar on floating logs, natural disasters. These lemurs who colonised the island were very primitive animals. They were similar to the smaller current lemur : mouse lemurs, the size of a mouse. The lemurs lived happily until the arrival of the man in 600 a.d.. Therefore, the destruction of their Habitat and their intensive hunting made disappear forever several species.
Now, Madagascar has 24 species of lemurs, with the discovery of three new species by Malagasy scientists, German and American.
Microcebus ganzhorni, microcebus manitatra and microcebus Boraha. Three new species of mouse lemurs, small endemic nocturnal lemurs of Madagascar, come to be discovered and described recently by scientists at the University of Antananarivo, German Centre of Primatology (DPZ or Deutsches Primatenzentrum), the University of Kentucky and the Duke Lemur Center American (DLC). This, After several scientific expeditions and the use of new methods of genetic identification.
Two of the three new species have been discovered in southeastern Madagascar, While the third, on the island of Sainte Marie. The first, called microcebus ganzhorni (Mouse Lemur Ganzhorn) bears the name of the Pr. Jörg Ganzhorn, ecologist from the University of Hamburg, which initiates the DPZ research activities in Madagascar. He has worked for decades in research on lemur and for their protection. The second species was named microcebus manitatra to symbolize the expansion of a subset of mouse lemurs from Western Madagascar. The third species named microcebus Boraha, a course was so named in reference to the island of Sainte Marie, its discovery, This island named in Malagasy Nosy Boraha.
Distinction.
The differentiation of the species of mouse lemurs remains a difficult exercise, their physical characteristics, such fur or even their beady eyes making it virtually impossible to their distinction to the naked eye. Also scientists have used new methods of genetic identification advanced. On the other hand, the analysis confirmed the status of 21 previously described species of mouse lemurs. It should be remembered that past descriptions of new species of lemurs date back to about three years. Among them, the gray Mouse Lemur's Madame Berthe, weighing barely 30 grams and recognized as the smallest primate in the world. This mouse lemur was discovered by scientists from the DPZ en 1993 in the Kirindy forest.
by Hôtel★★★ Restaurant gourmand Majunga.
