Claire's Mouse Lemur

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iClaire's Mouse Lemur
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cheirogaleidae
Genus: Microcebus
Species: M. mamiratra
Binomial name
Microcebus mamiratra
Andriantompohavana et al., 2006

Claire's Mouse Lemur (Microcebus mamiratra) is a newly described species of lemur from the genus of the mouse lemurs (Microcebus). It lives only on the island Nosy Bé in the Antsiranana province of Madagascar. The scientific type name, mamiratra, comes from Malagasy and means "clear and bright"; this refers the Theodore F. and Claire M. Hubbard Family Foundation, which has contributed to genetic research on Madagascar. This species is closely related to another new species, "M. species nova # 5"; which is related to the Sambirano Mouse Lemur, Microcebus sambiranensis, and the Northern Rufous Mouse Lemur, Microcebus tavaratra.[1]

This lemur is, with a weight of 60 g, average for its genus. The fur of the upper part is reddish-brown and becomes darker in the middle of the back. The tail is also reddish-brown, but the underbelly is white or creamy.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Andriantompohavana, R., Zaonarivelo, J.R., Engberg, S.E., Randriamampionona, R., McGuire, S.M., Shore, G.D., Rakotonomenjanahary, R., Brenneman, R.A. & Louis, E.E., Jr. (2006). "Mouse Lemurs of Northeastern Madagascar with a Description of a New Species at Lokobe Special Reserve" (PDF). Occasional Papers, Museum of Texas Tech University 259: i+1-24.