The Anosy mouse lemur (''Microcebus tanosi'') is a species of

mouse lemur The mouse lemurs are nocturnal lemurs of the genus ''Microcebus''. Like all lemurs, mouse lemurs are native to Madagascar. Mouse lemurs have a combined head, body and tail length of less than , making them the smallest primates (the smallest spe ...

known only from the Manantantely Forest and Ivorona Forest in southeastern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, near

Tôlanaro Fort-Dauphin (Malagasy Tolagnaro or Taolagnaro) is a city (''commune urbaine'') on the southeast coast of Madagascar. It is the capital of the Anosy Region and of the Taolagnaro District. It has been a port of local importance since the early 1500 ...

. Specimens were first collected in April 2007, and its discovery was announced in 2013 along with the

Marohita mouse lemur The Marohita mouse lemur (''Microcebus marohita'') is a species of mouse lemur known only from the Marohita Forest in eastern Madagascar, near the village of Marolambo. Specimens were first collected in December 2003, and its discovery was anno ...

(''Microcebus marohita''). It is a relatively large mouse lemur and lives in the same region as the

gray mouse lemur The gray mouse lemur (''Microcebus murinus''), grey mouse lemur or lesser mouse lemur, is a small lemur, a type of strepsirrhine primate, found only on the island of Madagascar. Weighing , it is the largest of the mouse lemurs (genus ''Microceb ...

(''M. murinus'') and the

reddish-gray mouse lemur The reddish-gray mouse lemur (''Microcebus griseorufus'') also known as the gray-brown mouse lemur or rufous-gray mouse lemur, is a small, solitary-but-social, nocturnal and omnivorous primate from the Western Madagascar in the region around Be ...

(''M. griseorufus''), all three of which are found within of each other and are nearly identical in appearance. It has dark brownish fur on its back and light-colored fur on its underside. Nothing is known about its behavior. Its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...

has not been evaluated by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

(IUCN), although its known habitat has degraded since 2007.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The first specimens of Anosy mouse lemur (''Microcebus tanosi'') were collected by biologist Rodin Rasoloarison during field work in April 2007. At the time, he captured six mouse lemurs at Manantantely Forest and four at Ivorona Forest in the

Anosy Region Anosy is one of the 22 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name ''Anosy'' means "island(s)" in Malagasy. Due to a strategic sea route running al ...

of southeastern Madagascar, near the city of

. Of these captured individuals, four were prepared as

biological specimen A biological specimen (also called a biospecimen) is a biological laboratory specimen held by a biorepository for research. Such a specimen would be taken by sampling so as to be representative of any other specimen taken from the source of ...

s, including skins, skulls, and tissue samples, with the required permits from the

government of Madagascar Politics of Madagascar takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Madagascar is head of state and the Prime Minister of Madagascar is head of government, and of a pluriform mul ...

. The Anosy mouse lemur was described concurrently with the

(''Microcebus marohita'') in 2013 by Rasoloarison and researchers David Weisrock,

Anne Yoder Anne Daphne Yoder is an American biologist, researcher, and professor in the Department of Biology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Yoder's work includes the study, preservation, and conservation of the multifarious ...

, Daniel Rakotondravony, and Peter M. Kappeler using

molecular analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

. The Anosy mouse lemur belongs to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Microcebus The mouse lemurs are nocturnal lemurs of the genus ''Microcebus''. Like all lemurs, mouse lemurs are native to Madagascar. Mouse lemurs have a combined head, body and tail length of less than , making them the smallest primates (the smallest spe ...

'' within the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cheirogaleidae The Cheirogaleidae are the family of strepsirrhine primates containing the various dwarf and mouse lemurs. Like all other lemurs, cheirogaleids live exclusively on the island of Madagascar. Characteristics Cheirogaleids are smaller than the ...

. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

was collected on 1 April 2007 at Manantantely Forest. Its species name, ''tanosi'', means "from the Anosy Region" in the

Malagasy language Malagasy (; ) is an Austronesian language and the national language of Madagascar. Malagasy is the westernmost Malayo-Polynesian language, brought to Madagascar by the settlement of Austronesian peoples from the Sunda islands around the 5th cen ...

. Despite living in the same region as the

(''M. murinus'') and the

(''M. griseorufus''), within , Rasoloarison ''et al.'' reported no indications of

gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalen ...

between these three

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species s ...

species. The populations at Manantantely and Ivorona are considered a distinct species using the metapopulation lineage concept of species. ''M. tanosi'' is nearly identical in appearance to the other eastern mouse lemurs, which are known for being a complex of cryptic species.

Physical description

The Anosy mouse lemur has dark brownish fur on its back and dull beige and dark gray fur on its underside. A dark stripe runs from its middle back to its tail and is most visible along the middle of its back. Its head has reddish fur. Compared to other mouse lemurs, it is large, with a total length of , with the tail measuring , roughly half of its body length.

Behavior

No data are available concerning the behavior, communication, ecology, or reproduction of the Anosy mouse lemur.

Distribution and habitat

The Anosy mouse lemur has only been found in the forests of Manantantely and Ivorona in southeastern Madagascar.

Conservation status

Unlike the Marohita mouse lemur, which was evaluated as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

by the

(IUCN) in July 2012, the Anosy mouse lemur has not been evaluated. Due to extensive

habitat degradation Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

at the Manantantely Forest and slight degradation at the Ivorona Forest, Rasoloarison ''et al.'' speculated that this species will likely be listed as Endangered on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

as well. The team stressed the need for further field studies to determine its geographic range and population status in order to facilitate conservation.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Physical description

Behavior

Distribution and habitat

Conservation status

References

Literature cited

Further reading