Northern giant mouse lemur

Northern giant mouse lemur
Northern giant mouse lemur[1]
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cheirogaleidae
Genus: Mirza
Species: M. zaza
Binomial name
Mirza zaza
Kappeler & Roos, 2005

The northern giant mouse lemur (Mirza zaza), or northern dwarf lemur, was discovered to be a species in 2005 by Kappeler et al.[3] from the German primates centre and the University of Göttingen. Before, both populations of giant mouse lemurs were believed to belong to one species. The northern giant mouse lemurs are small nocturnal lemurs endemic to Madagascar. They weigh about 300 grams (11 oz), have a long bushy tail and relatively small ears. Their large testicles are an indication of their promiscuous copulation system.

Etymology

The word "zaza" means child in Malagasy. Kappeler et al. choose this name for two reasons. First, the northern giant mouse lemur is the smaller of the two giant mouse lemur species. Second, they wished to emphasize the responsibility of the current generation of Malagasy children for the conservation of Malagasy animals for future generations.[3]

References

  1. ^ Mittermeier, R., Ganzhorn, J., Konstant, W., Glander, K., Tattersall, I., Groves, C., Rylands, A., Hapke, A., Ratsimbazafy, J., Mayor, M., Louis, E., Rumpler, Y., Schwitzer, C. & Rasoloarison, R. (December 2008). "Lemur Diversity in Madagascar". International Journal of Primatology 29 (6): 1607–1656. doi:10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y. 
  2. ^ Hoffmann, M. (2008). Mirza zaza. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 1 January 2009.
  3. ^ a b P.M. Kappeler et al.: A New Mirza Species Primate Report 71, July 2005 (PDF)


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