Revision of the Mouse Lemurs (Microcebus) of Eastern Madagascar

Louis, Edward E.; Coles, Melissa S.; Andriantompohavana, Rambinintsoa; Sommer, Julie A.; Engberg, Shannon E.; Zaonarivelo, John R.; Mayor, Mireya; Brenneman, Rick A.

doi:10.1007/s10764-006-9036-1

Cited by 88 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…But what of M. jollyae, M. simmonsi, M. mittermeieri, M. rufus, and M. mamiratra, which might, on the basis of recorded localities, be viewed as local intraspecific variants? This conclusion would be hard to square in detail with the phylograms presented by Louis et al 27 , but the quantitative analyses are not inordinately robust. Moreover, the fact that the question can be legitimately asked is a good indication that we will need to know a great deal more about the mouse lemurs before we can derive anything approaching a definitive account of the hierarchy of diversity in Microcebus, a point that Louis et al 27 emphasize.…”

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…This conclusion would be hard to square in detail with the phylograms presented by Louis et al 27 , but the quantitative analyses are not inordinately robust. Moreover, the fact that the question can be legitimately asked is a good indication that we will need to know a great deal more about the mouse lemurs before we can derive anything approaching a definitive account of the hierarchy of diversity in Microcebus, a point that Louis et al 27 emphasize. Nonetheless, at least a significant part of the recent increase in mouse lemur species seems justified by available facts.…”

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…1 The most recent counts 2,26,27 yield the thirteen species listed in Table 1 and hint at more to come.…”

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Louis et al 27 followed with a survey based on samples freshly collected at a dozen sites in the eastern region. Analyses of a variety of mitochondrial markers led Louis et al 27 to redefine M. rufus (naming a topotype from Ranomafana National Park, east of Fianarantsoa), which they recognized only from relatively high-altitude populations known at Ranomafana and Mantadia.…”

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Analyses of a variety of mitochondrial markers led Louis et al 27 to redefine M. rufus (naming a topotype from Ranomafana National Park, east of Fianarantsoa), which they recognized only from relatively high-altitude populations known at Ranomafana and Mantadia. At the same time they named three new species, each one distinctive not only at the molecular level, but in pelage and exter- What does all this mean in terms of Microcebus diversity?…”

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Madagascar's Lemurs: Cryptic diversity or taxonomic inflation?

Tattersall

2007

Evolutionary Anthropology

147

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We live in inflationary times. A quarter of a century ago, cigarettes were about $1 a pack in New York City, a bottle of Château Beaucastel set you back $15, and there were 36 different species of lemur alive in Madagascar1 (Table 1). Today the equivalent figures are $7.40, $95, and 83 lemur species2 (Table 1). The increase in dollar prices has a lot to do with the economics of growth, something that obviously cannot be sustained indefinitely on a finite planet. Is the recent inflation in lemur taxonomy any more secure? The question is all the more worth asking because this is no isolated phenomenon: Madagascar's primates have not been alone in multiplying. The same burgeoning of species names has occurred throughout the order Primates3, 4 and beyond,5 provoking both concern and energetic debate.6–9 Interestingly, this debate has largely unfolded among ecologists, conservationists, and other “consumers” of taxonomy; many “producers” seem to be content to generate new taxonomies with a remarkable lack of introspection, as if they were no more than passive consequences of more lofty concerns. And because the same causes underlie taxonomic inflation in Madagascar as elsewhere, this extraordinary island once again presents us with a microcosm of the larger world.

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Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…1 The most recent counts 2,26,27 yield the thirteen species listed in Table 1 and hint at more to come.…”

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Genus Microcebusmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Madagascar's Lemurs: Cryptic diversity or taxonomic inflation?

Tattersall

2007

Evolutionary Anthropology

147

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Exceptional diversity of mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) in the Makira region with the description of one new species

Radespiel

Olivieri

Rasolofoson

et al. 2008

American J Primatol

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4Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust-Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar Although the number of described lemur species has increased considerably over the last 20 years, detailed biogeographic data are still lacking from many geographic regions, in particular in the eastern part of Madagascar. This study investigated mouse lemur species diversity in a previously unstudied Inter-River-System in the eastern Makira region. Three sites were visited and 26 individuals were sampled and characterized with 13 external morphometric measurements. Standard phylogenetic analyses were performed on the basis of sequences of three mitochondrial loci by including representatives of all other published mouse lemur species for comparison. The analyses revealed the presence of three mouse lemur species in one study site, two of which were previously undescribed. The two new species are genetically distinct and belong to the larger-bodied mouse lemur species on the island, whereas the third species, Microcebus mittermeieri, belongs to the smaller-bodied mouse lemur species. The study fully describes one of the new species. This study and other lemur inventories suggest that the Makira region is particularly rich in lemur species and the lack of any protected zone in this area should now attract the urgent attention of conservation stakeholders. Am.

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High frequency/ultrasonic communication in a critically endangered nocturnal primate, Claire's mouse lemur (Microcebus mamiratra)

Hasiniaina

Scheumann

Evasoa

et al. 2018

American J Primatol

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The critically endangered Claire's mouse lemur, only found in the evergreen rain forest of the National Park Lokobe (LNP) and a few lowland evergreen rain forest fragments of northern Madagascar, was described recently. The present study provides the first quantified information on vocal acoustics of calls, sound associated behavioral context, acoustic niche, and vocal activity of this species. We recorded vocal and social behavior of six male-female and six male-male dyads in a standardized social-encounter paradigm in June and July 2016 at the LNP, Nosy Bé island. Over six successive nights per dyad, we audio recorded and observed behaviors for 3 hr at the beginning of the activity period. Based on the visual inspection of spectrograms and standardized multiparametric sound analysis, we identified seven different call types. Call types can be discriminated based on a combination of harmonicity, fundamental frequency variation, call duration, and degree of tonality. Acoustic features of tonal call types showed that for communication, mouse lemurs use the cryptic, high frequency/ultrasonic frequency niche. Two call types, the Tsak and the Grunt call, were emitted most frequently. Significant differences in vocal activity of the Tsak call were found between male-female and male-male dyads, linked primarily to agonistic conflicts. Dominant mouse lemurs vocalized more than subdominant ones, suggesting that signaling may present an honest indicator of fitness. A comparison of our findings of the Claire's mouse lemur with published findings of five bioacoustically studied mouse lemur species points to the notion that a complex interplay between ecology, predation pressure, and phylogenetic relatedness may shape the evolution of acoustic divergence between species in this smallest-bodied primate radiation. Thus, comparative bioacoustic studies, using standardized procedures, are promising to unravel the role of vocalization for primate species diversity and evolution and for identifying candidates for vocalization-based non-invasive monitoring for conservation purposes.

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Revision of the Mouse Lemurs (Microcebus) of Eastern Madagascar

Cited by 88 publications

References 32 publications

Madagascar's Lemurs: Cryptic diversity or taxonomic inflation?

Madagascar's Lemurs: Cryptic diversity or taxonomic inflation?

Exceptional diversity of mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) in the Makira region with the description of one new species

High frequency/ultrasonic communication in a critically endangered nocturnal primate, Claire's mouse lemur (Microcebus mamiratra)

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