Two more ape species added to the primate group

Scientists on March 26 took the rare step of adding two living species of mouse lemurs to the list of primates.



Microcebus marohita lemur (Source: AFP)

The decision brings the total number of mouse lemurs – nocturnal, tree-dwelling animals that weigh as little as a large apple – to 20.

But scientists warn that one of the two new species added to the list is at risk of extinction.

Primates are a highly developed family of mammals that includes humans, gorillas, and monkeys and have been extensively studied. Adding living species to the list is rare.

Biologists from the United States, Germany, and Madagascar compared DNA genetic data, body weight and length, skull, tooth size, and coat color to declare that the Microcebus marohita and Microcebus tanosi living in Madagascar are separate primate species.

With a body length of about 13.5 cm, M. marohita is currently the largest mouse lemur known. Including its furry tail, it is 28 cm long and weighs 78 grams.

The brown animal had large hind legs but small ears and was named after the Marohita forest in eastern Madagascar where it was found, the team reported in the International Journal of Primatology.

Its relative, M. tanosi, is also quite large for a mouse lemur, measuring 27 cm from nose to tail and weighing 51.5 grams.

Discovered in the Anosy region of southeastern Madagascar, M. tanosi has a red head, brown fur, a light belly, and a stripe of fur of a different color along its spine.

The animals were discovered in 2003 and 2007, but it took years to determine that they were a new species. The animals look quite similar to other mouse lemurs.

The team warned in their paper that the Marohita forest has been fragmented and destroyed since the mouse lemur, which the forest namesake, was discovered there 10 years ago. They said the lemurs from the Marohito forest are threatened by habitat destruction and the number of members of the species is dwindling.

The team wants the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to add M. marohita to its Red List of threatened animals, saying M. tanosi is also vulnerable to extinction.

“Field studies and regional surveys are urgently needed to at least determine the geographical area where the gibbons occur and the population status of these creatures so that appropriate conservation measures can be implemented.”

The IUCN says Madagascar's lemurs are among the most threatened animals on Earth.

Deforestation and poaching are the main threats to lemur survival in Madagascar, which has been plagued by political unrest following a coup in 2009. According to the IUCN, the country has lost 11 million hectares of forest in the past 20 years.

In a report released last year, the IUCN said that the rarest lemur species in northern Madagascar had been reduced to 19 individuals.

Due to Madagascar’s geographic isolation, all of its primates are endemic to the island. The same goes for 90% of its flora and 80% of its amphibians and reptiles. New species are still being discovered there, and the number of newly identified lemur species has more than tripled in the past decade.

According to (Vietnam+) - VT