Microcebus jonahi explained

Microcebus jonahi, or Jonah's mouse lemur, is a tiny species of primate. It weighs 60g and has a body length of around 13cm (05inches) and its tail measures around 13 cm as well. It is the 25th recognized species of mouse lemur and the 108th recognized species of lemur.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Description

Jonah's mouse lemur has small ears and the characteristic huge eyes of lemurs with a distinct white stripe between the eyes. It has short, dense fur with a white with slightly yellowish belly and a brownish back.^[4] It weighs 60g and has a body length of around 13cm (05inches) and its tail measures around 13 cm as well.^[1]

Distribution

Jonah's mouse lemur lives in northeastern Madagascar, including within the protected Mananara National Park. The species was named after Malagasy primatologist Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy.^[1]

Conservation status

The forested area in the region where the Jonah's mouse lemur is found is undergoing massive deforestation. In northeast Madagascar, forest cover declined from in the early 1990s to in 2018. Once an uninterrupted stretch of rainforest, it has been whittled down to fragments. The fragmentation is expected to intensify, stranding the mouse lemurs, curtailing their access to food, and narrowing their genetic diversity.^[5]

See also

• List of primates described in the 2020s

References

• Schüßler, D., Blanco, M. B., Salmona, J., Poelstra, J., Andriambeloson, J. B., Miller, A., ... & Radespiel, U. (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, 82(9), e23180. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajp.23180
• Poelstra, J. W., Salmona, J., Tiley, G. P., Schüßler, D., Blanco, M. B., Andriambeloson, J. B., ... & Yoder, A. D. (2021). Cryptic patterns of speciation in cryptic primates: microendemic mouse lemurs and the multispecies coalescent. Systematic Biology, 70(2), 203-218. https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/70/2/203/5869053?login=true

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020-08-05. New species alert: meet Jonah's mouse lemur!. 2021-02-07. Duke Lemur Center.
2. Schüßler et al., 2020.
3. Poelstra, Salmona, Tiley et al., 2021.
4. Web site: 2020-07-29. New lemur discovered in Madagascar is already a threatened species. 2021-02-07. RFI. en.
5. Web site: 2020-08-03. Say hello to Madagascar's newest mouse lemur, a pint-sized primate. 2021-02-07. Mongabay Environmental News.