Jonah's Mausmaki
| Jonah's Mausmaki | ||||||||||||
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| Microcebus jonahi | ||||||||||||
| Schüßler , Blanco , Salmona , Poelstra , Andriambeloson , Miller , Randrianambinina , Rasolofoson , Mantilla ‐ Contreras , Chikhi , Louis , Yoder & Radespiel , 2020 |
Jonah Mausmaki ( Microcebus jonahi ) is in the North East of Madagascar living primate species from the kind of mouse lemurs within the group of lemurs . It was only re-described in mid-2020 and named in honor of the Malagasy primatologist Jonah Ratsimbazafy, who spent his life protecting the Malagasy lemurs.
features
Jonah's mouse lemur is relatively large for a mouse lemur, reddish-brown in color and has a short but dense fur. The fur around the eyes is darker, it is lighter on the cheeks and it becomes more and more whitish towards the throat. A noticeable white stripe sits between the eyes and ends on the short snout. The ears are relatively small and also red-brown in color. The peritoneum is whitish with a slight yellowish tinge. The transition from the reddish brown fur on the sides of the body to the light peritoneum is abrupt. Hands and feet are sparsely covered with whitish-gray hair. The insides of the hands and feet are brownish to pink in color. There is no gender dimorphism. The average weight of the adult specimens examined for the initial description was 57.4 g. The body was 93.3 mm long on average and the average tail length was 132.7 mm.
Jonah's mouse lemur differs genetically and morphometrically from other mouse lemurs in north-western Madagascar . Compared to its sister species , the MacArthur mouse lemur ( Microcebus macarthurii ), Jonah's mouse lemur is longer, has a shorter tail, a wider but shorter head and wider ears. In addition, the peritoneum of Jonah's lemur is whitish, that of MacArthur's lemur is yellowish-orange. However, mitochondrial DNA does not clearly distinguish Jonah's lemur from MacArthur's lemur, possibly due to hybridizations in the past. Jonah's lemur can be distinguished from the smaller Goodman lemur ( Microcebus lehilahytsara ), which occurs in the same area, by its body size and longer tail, and from Simmons' lemons ( Microcebus simmonsi ), whose distribution area adjoins to the south, Jonah's lemur is distinguished by the shorter ears and the larger eye relief.
habitat
Jonah's Mausmaki occurs in the northeast of Madagascar in the Mananara North National Park and its immediate surroundings at an altitude of 42 to 356 meters above sea level. The specimens used for the first description were caught on the edge of a lowland primary rainforest that was only slightly disturbed by humans and mostly sat on shoots of the ginger plant Aframomum angustifolium at a height of two to four meters. In deforested regions the species occurs only in stocks of Aframomum angustifolium .
Very little is known about the way of life of this newly discovered species. Like all mouse lemurs, it should be nocturnal. Mouse lemurs are generally omnivores that feed primarily on fruits and insects.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Dominik Schüßler, Marina B. Blanco, Jordi Salmona, Jelmer Poelstra, Jean B. Andriambeloson, Alex Miller, Blanchard Randrianambinina, David W. Rasolofoson, Jasmin Mantilla ‐ Contreras, Lounès Chikhi, Edward E. Louis Jr., Anne D. Yoder and Ute Radespiel. 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. DOI: 10.1002 / ajp.23180