Lac Alaotra Gentle Lemur

Taxobox


name = Lac Alaotra Gentle LemurMSW3 Groves | pages = 116]
status = CR
trend = down
status_system = iucn3.1
status_ref = IUCN2006 | assessors = Ganzhorn, J. & Members of the Primate Specialist Group | year = 2000 | title = Hapalemur griseus" ssp. "alaotrensis | id = 9676 | downloaded = 2007-05-06]
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Primates
familia = Lemuridae
genus = "Hapalemur"
species = "H. alaotrensis"
binomial = "Hapalemur alaotrensis"
binomial_authority = (Rumpler, 1975)

The Lac Alaotra Gentle Lemur ("Hapalemur alaotrensis"), also known as the Alaotran Gentle Lemur or locally as the Bandro, is a bamboo lemur. It is endemic to the reed beds in and around Lac Alaotra, in northeast Madagascar. The Alaotran Lemur is the only primate specifically adapted to living in papyrus reeds. Unlike other bamboo lemurs, the Lac Alaotra Gentle Lemur does not eat bamboo, instead, it feeds on the papyrus reeds of its habitat.fact|date=May 2007

Its tail and body are both 40 cm on average, and weighs between 1.1 and 1.4 kg, with males slightly larger than females.cite book | author = Mittermeier, Russell A., Konstant, William R., Hawkins, Frank , Louis, Edward E., and Langrand, Olivier | year = 2006 | title = Lemurs of Madagascar | publisher = Conservation International | edition = 2nd edition | url = http://www.madagascar-library.com/r/544.html | accessdate = 2006-10-29 | pages = 222-225] Its dense woolly fur is a gray-brown on its back, lighter gray on its face and chest, with its head and neck chestnut brown.

The classification of the Bandro is disputed, with some classifying it as a subspecies of "Hapalemur griseus", while others see it as a separate species. Current genetic data do not support species status. [Pastorini, J., Forstner, M. R. J. and Martin, R. D. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships of gentle lemurs (Hapalemur). Evolutionary Anthropology 11, 150-154.] Mitochondial DNA sequences from the two populations "H. g. griseus" and "H. g. alaotrensis" are interspersed with each other on the phylogentic tree. [Figure 1 of Pastorini, J., Forstner, M. R. J. and Martin, R. D. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships of gentle lemurs (Hapalemur). Evolutionary Anthropology 11, 150-154] Moreover, average genetic distances between the two subspecies are within the range of within-taxon comparisons and not in the range of between-taxon comparisons. A final assessment of species "versus" subspecies status requires to fill-in gaps in sampling and use of nuclear loci. GenBank, the universal repository for genetic sequence information, has not accepted the species status of the Aloatran Lemur and lists it as a subspecies [NCBI taxonomy database: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi] .

The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust has a Lac Alaotra Gentle Lemur conservation program.

References