The Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur alaotrensis''), also known as the Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, Alaotran bamboo lemur, Alaotran gentle lemur, Alaotra reed lemur, or locally as the ', is a

bamboo lemur The bamboo lemurs or gentle lemurs are the lemurs in genus ''Hapalemur''. These medium-sized primates live exclusively on Madagascar. Etymology Bamboo lemurs were first described by French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1851. Compar ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the reed beds in and around

Lac Alaotra Lake Alaotra (, ; ) is the largest lake in Madagascar, located in Alaotra-Mangoro Region and on the island's northern central plateau. Its basin is composed of shallow freshwater lakes and marshes surrounded by areas of dense vegetation. It forms ...

, in northeast

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. It is about long, with a similar length tail, and is a brownish-gray colour. It is the only bamboo lemur to live in and feed on papyrus reeds, and other reeds and grasses, and some authorities argue that it should be regarded as a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the

eastern lesser bamboo lemur The eastern lesser bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur griseus''), also known as the gray bamboo lemur, the gray gentle lemur, and the Mahajanga lemur is a small lemur endemic to Madagascar, with three known subspecies. As its name suggests, the eastern le ...

(''Hapalemur griseus''). The population of this lemur has been declining because of

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has rated it as being "

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

Taxonomy

The classification of the'' bandro'' is disputed, with some classifying it as a subspecies of ''

Hapalemur griseus The eastern lesser bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur griseus''), also known as the gray bamboo lemur, the gray gentle lemur, and the Mahajanga lemur is a small lemur endemic to Madagascar, with three known subspecies. As its name suggests, the eastern le ...

'', while others see it as a separate species. Current genetic data do not support species status. Mitochondrial DNA sequences from the two populations ''H. g. griseus'' and ''H. g. alaotrensis'' are interspersed with each other on the phylogenetic tree. 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 filling in gaps in sampling and the 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: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi

Description

The tail and body of the Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur are both on average, and it weighs , with males slightly larger than females. Its dense, woolly fur is a gray-brown on the back, lighter gray on the face and chest, and chestnut brown on the head and neck.

Ecology

This lemur is the only primate specifically adapted to living in

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

reeds. Unlike other bamboo lemurs, the Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur does not eat bamboo; instead, it feeds on the stems of papyrus reeds, shoots of the grass ''

Phragmites communis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide. Description ''Phragmites australis' ...

'', and two other species of grasses (''

Echinochloa crus-galli ''Echinochloa crus-galli'' is a type of wild grass originating from tropical Asia that was formerly classified as a type of panicum grass. It is commonly known as cockspur (or cockspur grass), barnyard millet, Japanese millet, water grass, commo ...

'' and ''

Leersia hexandra ''Leersia hexandra'' is a species of grass known by the common names southern cutgrass, clubhead cutgrass, and swamp rice grass.

'').

Status

The population of Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur is declining as suitable habitat around the lake is being destroyed and converted to rice fields. Other threats include the burning of the marshland and hunting of the lemurs for food and the pet trade. The

has rated this lemur as being "

", but a new 42,478 hectare protected area was created around the lake in 2007 which should provide some protection for the lemurs. The

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is a conservation organization with a mission to save species from extinction. Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963 with the dodo as its symbol. Th ...

has a Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur conservation program, and some

captive breeding Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of keeping plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, Botanical garden, botanic gardens, and other Conservation biology, conservation facilitie ...

is being done in zoos. The species is listed in CITES Appendix I.

Threats

Conversion of the marsh habitat to rice fields poses a severe threat to the survival of the Hapalemur alaotrensis species. While the remaining marshlands are resistant to conversion due to regular flooding, the potential implementation of a major drainage project in the region could significantly jeopardize the species' existence. Burning of the remaining marshlands is a common practice for fishing and cattle grazing, leading to increased aquatic plants that choke fishing areas. This cycle of burning not only poses a direct threat to the lemurs but also limits marsh regeneration after flooding, exacerbating the challenges faced by the Hapalemur alaotrensis population. Hunting for food and capturing lemurs for pets have significantly contributed to the decline in Hapalemur alaotrensis numbers. Local communities employ various hunting and trapping methods, including direct pursuit by dogs, harpooning, snares, and habitat burning. With over 1,000 lemurs hunted annually in certain years, anthropogenic pressures remain a considerable threat to the species' survival.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q575671 Bamboo lemurs Endemic fauna of Madagascar Mammals of Madagascar Critically endangered fauna of Africa Mammals described in 1975 Taxa named by Yves Rumpler