Mouse Lemur is the world’s smallest primate. Three new species of Mouse lemur have been discovered by German Scientists and the total number of mouse lemur species in now 15.
It has been three years since the new species have been found but it takes a lot of time for the newly found animal to be officially baptized with a scientific name. It is long process with a research study and peer review of the study to be published in a scientific journal, the scientists review and research it, make corrections and then only does the naming get accredited.
Mouse lemurs are nocturnal animals. They dart the forests of Madagascar. Mouse lemurs are wide eyed animals. They inhabit a small are and therefore their protection is a great challenge. Especially when the habitat is facing risk due to deforestation.
Two new lemur species were discovered last year in Madagascar. But it has also been cautioned that the previous 12 named lemur species might actually be unique species. Researchers say that sorting out the number of species is essential for conservation efforts. The finding of new species poses a challenger for the conservation of their survival. The more the species, the harder it is to protect the animals from being endangered.
The new species do not look all that different from the other species. At the first glance they look the same.
The finding of the new species was due to the 14 months effort by a team including Gillian Olivieri, a doctoral student at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany. The team set traps with tasty bits of banana at 20-metre intervals. They got over 52 mouse lemurs over one four-night run.
The task of getting the tissue out of the lemur’s ear was a challenge says the team. Finally the team came up with 3 new species , which they named microcebus bongolavensis, microcebus danfossi and microcebus lokobensis.
The results are published online in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
It has been three years since the new species have been found but it takes a lot of time for the newly found animal to be officially baptized with a scientific name. It is long process with a research study and peer review of the study to be published in a scientific journal, the scientists review and research it, make corrections and then only does the naming get accredited.
Mouse lemurs are nocturnal animals. They dart the forests of Madagascar. Mouse lemurs are wide eyed animals. They inhabit a small are and therefore their protection is a great challenge. Especially when the habitat is facing risk due to deforestation.
Two new lemur species were discovered last year in Madagascar. But it has also been cautioned that the previous 12 named lemur species might actually be unique species. Researchers say that sorting out the number of species is essential for conservation efforts. The finding of new species poses a challenger for the conservation of their survival. The more the species, the harder it is to protect the animals from being endangered.
The new species do not look all that different from the other species. At the first glance they look the same.
The finding of the new species was due to the 14 months effort by a team including Gillian Olivieri, a doctoral student at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover, Germany. The team set traps with tasty bits of banana at 20-metre intervals. They got over 52 mouse lemurs over one four-night run.
The task of getting the tissue out of the lemur’s ear was a challenge says the team. Finally the team came up with 3 new species , which they named microcebus bongolavensis, microcebus danfossi and microcebus lokobensis.
The results are published online in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
Comments