Margot Marsh's mouse lemur or the Antafondro mouse lemur (''Microcebus margotmarshae'') 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 ...

endemic to

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 ...

. Its

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 first collected on 21 May 2006, proposed in 2006 by Andriantompohavana ''et al.'', and was formally described in 2008 by E. Lewis, Jr., ''et al.'' According to genetic tests, it is genetically distinct from its closest sister taxon,

Claire's mouse lemur Claire's mouse lemur (''Microcebus mamiratra''), or the Nosy Be mouse lemur, is a newly described species of lemur from the genus of the mouse lemurs (''Microcebus''). It lives on the island Nosy Bé in the Antsiranana province of Madagascar, an ...

(''M. mamiratra''). It is a small mouse lemur, weighing approximately , with a body length of and a tail length of . It is found in Antafondro Classified Forest Special Reserve in northern Madagascar.

Etymology

The name ''margotmarshae'' was chosen in honor of

Margot Marsh Margot (; ) is a feminine French given name, a variant of Marguerite. It is also occasionally a surname. Persons named Margot include the following: People with the given name Margot * Margot Asquith, countess of Oxford and Asquith * Marguerite ...

, who made generous lifetime contributions to primate conservation initiatives in many different countries. Upon her death in 1995, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation was founded to continue supporting her efforts to help safeguard the future of threatened primates.

Anatomy and physiology

Margot Marsh's mouse lemur weighs approximately , although like other mouse lemurs, its weight will fluctuate depending upon the season. The

for the species, collected on 21 May 2006, weighed , had a body length of and a tail length of . Other measurements for the individual include head crown of , muzzle length of , ear length of , and ear width of . The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and tail

pelage Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

is mostly reddish-orange with gray undertones. The

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

pelage is white to cream. The head is mostly bright reddish-orange, and its ears are small. The muzzle and the fur around the eyes are light brown, and there is a small, bright white spot on the nose ridge between the eyes.

Distribution

Margot Marsh's mouse lemur is found in the Antafondro Classified Forest Special Reserve, south of the Andranomalaza River and north of the Maevarano River in the

Antsiranana Province Antsiranana is a former province of Madagascar with an area of 43,406 km2. It had a population of 1,188,425 (July, 2001). Its capital was Antsiranana. A diversity of ethnic groups are found in the province, including Anjoaty, Sakalava, A ...

of Madagascar. The northern end of Margot Marsh's mouse lemur's range is bordered by the range of the

Sambirano mouse lemur The Sambirano mouse lemur (''Microcebus sambiranensis'') is a small, recently discovered primate and like the other mouse lemurs can only be found on the island of Madagascar. The dorsal side is both cinnamon and rufous-cinnamon and is grey ventr ...

(''M. sambiranensis''), forming a significant

species barrier The mechanisms of reproductive isolation are a collection of evolutionary mechanisms, behaviors and physiological processes critical for speciation. They prevent members of different species from producing offspring, or ensure that any offspring ...

between it and its genetically closest sister taxon,

(''M. mamiratra''), farther to the north.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q865539 Mammals described in 2006 Mouse lemurs