Lemurs of Madagascar

Third Edition
(Conservation International Tropical Field Guide Series)

Conservation International (2010). (First Published 1994)

Softcover Book

Text from the Back Cover

One of the three most diverse primate faunas on Earth, and certainly the most unusual. Five families, 15 genera, and 101 distinct taxa, all of them endemic to the island of Madagascar. Not only is Madagascar incredibly important for primates, it is also one of the world's highest priority biodiversity hotspots. It has already lost more than 90% of its original natural vegetation, and it has the highest levels of endemism at the species, genus, and family levels of any hotspot on Earth, conserving not just unique species but entire evolutionary lineages. By providing this guide to facilitate the identification of Madagascar's best known flagship species, we hope to stimulate interest in this "island continent" and encourage everyone concerned about our natural world to visit this very special place.

In this guide we discuss the origins, discovery, study, and conservation of Madagascar's lemur fauna, and profile the country's 101 species and subspecies. What is particularly exciting is that we continue to discover species of lemurs previously unknown to science. Sixteen years ago, at the time of the 1st edition of this guide. we recognized only 50 different kinds of lemurs, but 43 lemur species and subspecies have been described since then, and we here recognize a Further eight as a result of our improved understanding of their systematics and geographic ranges. We expect that other lemurs will continue to be described in years to come.

The guide is illustrated with 539 drawings, photos, and maps to assist in field identification. We also introduce the concept of primate-watching and primate life-listing to encourage all of you interested in primates to see as many of these wonderful animals as possible in the wild and to help conserve them in their natural habitats. You, the reader, whether scientist. primate-watcher, budding naturalist, adventure traveler, or casual visitor to Madagascar, are making a very significant contribution to the future of biodiversity in this amazing corner of our planet. We hope that this guide will enhance your experience and convince you to visit this "Land of Lemurs" again and again.

About the Authors

Russell A. Mittermeier
Russell Mittermeier has been President of Conservation International (CI) since 1989, is currently a Vice-President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and has served as Chairman of IUCN's Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) Primate Specialist Group since 1977. Prior to joining CI, he was Vice-President for Science at World Wildlife Fund-US. A primatologist and herpetologist by training, Dr. Mittermeier's publications include 20 books and over 570 articles, and he has conducted fieldwork on three continents and in more than 20 countries. He received his PhD in Biological Anthropology from Harvard University in 1977.

Edward E. Louis Jr.
Ed Louis has been the Director of the Conservation Genetics Department for Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research for the past 14 years. He has carried out extensive fieldwork in Madagascar since 1998, developing baseline molecular, distribution, and census data on its lemurs, boas, tortoises, geckos, amphibians, and orchids. He received his DVM and PhD in Genetics from Texas A&M University in 1994 and 1996, respectively.

Matthew Richardson
Matt Richardson is a freelance author, historian and primatologist from Toronto, Canada. A member of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, he works closely with scientists and conservation NGOs the world over on academic publications and research.

Christoph Schwitzer
Christoph Schwitzer received his PhD in Zoology from the University of Cologne, where he studied the nutritional ecology of lemurs. He was part of the primatological research group at Cologne Zoo before becoming Programme Coordinator for the Association Européenne pour l'Etude et la Conservation des Lémuriens (AEECL) in Madagascar, where he established a field research and conservation programme. He has been Head of Research at Bristol Zoo Gardens since 2006, and Executive Secretary of AEECL since 2007.

Olivier Langrand
Olivier Langrand is Senior Vice President for International Government Relations at Conservation International. He holds a Master of Science in Zoology from the University of Natal, South Africa, and has 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of field research and tropical forest conservation programs. He is also an expert on the birds of the southwestern Indian Ocean islands, and the author of more than 80 scientific papers and four books on the biodiversity of the Africa/Madagascar region. Olivier lived in Madagascar for 12 years, and was awarded the Order of National Merit in 1997 by the President of Madagascar for his outstanding contributions to biodiversity conservation.

Anthony B. Rylands
Anthony Rylands began his career in 1976 studying primates at the National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), Manaus, Brazil. He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1982, and from 1986 to 2005 was Professor of Vertebrate Zoology at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Rylands is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, and Deputy Chair of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. He has authored and edited more than 220 articles, books and reports on primate ecology, behavior, taxonomy, biogeography and conservation. He is currently a Senior Research Scientist at Conservation International.

Frank Hawkins
Frank Hawkins is Vice-President for the Africa/ Madagascar program at Conservation International. He lived in Madagascar for nearly 20 years, working on conservation projects and researching birds, primates, and carnivores. He completed a PhD on the conservation of western Malagasy birds in 1994.

Serge Rajaobelina
Serge Rajaobelina is the President of Fanamby, a Malagasy non-governmental environmental organization that he founded in 1997. Prior to that, he served as Assistant Program Officer for the World Wildlife Fund-US Madagascar Program from 1988-89, and then as Conservation International's Program Officer for Madagascar (1989-1994) and its Madagascar Program Director (1995-1996).

Rodin Rasoloarison
Rodin Rasoloarison obtained his PhD from the University of Antananarivo in 2000 for his taxonomic revision of Madagascar's mouse lemurs (Microcebus). He has since continued to study the taxonomy and biogeography of cheirogaleids in the field and in museum collections around the world. He is a research coordinator for the German Primate Center (DPZ).

Christian Roos
Christian Roos is a geneticist at the German Primate Center (DPZ) and Deputy Regional Coordinator of the Southeast Asian section of the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group. He studies the phylogeny, phylogeography and population genetic structure of various primate groups. Although working mainly on Asian primates, he has performed several molecular studies on Malagasy lemurs, including indriids, cheirogaleids and lepilemurids. He received his PhD in Biology from the Technical University of Munich in 2003.

Peter Kappeler
Peter Kappeler is Professor of Sociobiology and Anthropology at the University of Göttingen, Germany and Director of the Kirindy Forest Research Station of the German Primate Center (DPZ), where he has been studying lemur behavior and ecology since 1988. He has served as President of the German Primate Society and the European Federation for Primatology, and as Vice President for Research of the International Primatological Society. He received his PhD in Zoology from Duke University in 1992.

Jonah Ratsimbazafy
Jonah Ratsimbazafy received his PhD in Physical Anthropology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 2002, with a study of black-and-white ruffed lemurs in Madagascar's Manombo forests. He is presently the Training and Conservation Coordinator for the Durrell Madagascar Programme, and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Paleontology and Anthropology at the University of Antananarivo.

James MacKinnon
James MacKinnon is Senior Technical Director of Conservation International in Madagascar. He has lived in Madagascar for 11 years working on conservation and conducting field research on fruit-bats. He spent 6 years as an advisor to Madagascar National Parks and has been closely involved in the efforts to expand the country's protected area network. He received his PhD in Zoology from the University of Aberdeen in 1998.

Stephen D. Nash
A native of Great Britain and a graduate of the Natural History Illustration Department of the Royal College of Art in London, Stephen Nash has been Scientific Illustrator for Conservation International since 1989, producing images for conservation education and biological publications. Prior to this, he was part of the World Wildlife Fund-US Primate Program. Based at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he is a Visiting Research Associate in the Department of Anatomical Sciences and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Art.

Paula K. Rylands
Paula K. Rylands is the Photo and Graphic Design Coordinator for the President's Office of Conservation International. She has a BA in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Maryland and has studied art and design in England. Originally from Brazil, she has done fieldwork on African diaspora in the rural areas of Minas Gerais, is an amateur photographer, and works with video production.

List of Additional Contributors

Michel Andriambololona, Nicole Volasoa Andriaholinirina, Matthew Banks, Frederick Boltz, Maarten de Wit, Rainer Dolch, Joanna Durbin, Anna T. C. Feistner, Rollande Finoana, Jörg U. Ganzhorn, Nick Garbutt, Fabian Génin, Martine Girard-Lanchec, Laurie Godfrey, Christopher Golden, Steven M. Goodman, Linn Fenna Groeneveld, Colin P. Groves, Andreas Hapke, Michael Hoffman, Steig E. Johnson, Alison Jolly, William L. Jungers, William R. Konstant, David W. Krause, Richard Lewis, Robert D. Martin, Roderic B. Mast, Mireya Mayor, David Meyers, Erik Patel, James Patterson, Ingrid J. Porton, Joyce Powzyk, Clement Joseph Rabarivola, Julien Rabesoa, Ute Radespiel, Olivier Rahanitriniaina, Marlène Rakotomalala, Noro Raminosoa, Fabi Randrianarisoa, Hanta Rasamimanana, Aimé Rasamison, Tovo Rasolofoharivelo, Rabarison Rasolonirina, Felix Ratelolahy, Besoa Ratsisakanana, Gisèle Raveloarinoro, Angelin Razafimanantsoa, Marie Razafindrasolo, Yves Rumpler, Derek Schuurman, Takayo Soma, Viviana Sorrentino, Eleanor Sterling, Ian Tattersall, Urs Thalmann, Astrid Vargas, Nathalie Vasey, Lynne Villers, Lucienne Wilmé, Sébastien Wohlhauser, Patricia C. Wright, John R. Zaonarivelo

Introduction
How to Use This Field Guide
Chapter 1: Madagascar's Ancient Geological History
Chapter 2: Origin of the Lemurs
Chapter 3: The Extinct Lemurs
Chapter 4: Discovery and Study of the Living Lemurs
Chapter 5: Conservation of Lemurs
Chapter 6: The Living Lemurs
Chapter 7: Family Cheirogaleidae
- Microcebus: Mouse Lemurs
  - Microcebus murinus, Gray Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus griseorufus, Gray-brown Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus berthae, Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus myoxinus, Peters' Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus ravelobensis, Golden-brown Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus bongolavensis, Bongolava Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus danfossi, Ambarijeby Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus margotmarshae, Margot Marsh's Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus sambiranensis, Sambirano Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus mamiratra, Nosy Be Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus tavaratra, Tavaratra Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus arnholdi, Montagne d'Ambre Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus rufus, Rufous Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus jollyae, Jolly's Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus lehilahytsara, Goodman's Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus simmonsi, Simmons' Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus macarthurii, Anjiahely Mouse Lemur
  - Microcebus mittermeieri, Mittermeier's Mouse Lemur
- Mirza: Giant Mouse Lemurs
  - Mirza coquereli, Coquerel's Giant Mouse Lemur
  - Mirza zaza, Northern Giant Mouse Lemur
- Allocebus: Hairy-Eared Dwarf Lemur
  - Allocebus trichotis, Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur
- Cheirogaleus: Dwarf Lemurs
  - Cheirogaleus medius, Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur
  - Cheirogaleus sibreei, Sibree's Dwarf Lemur
  - Cheirogaleus major, Greater Dwarf Lemur
  - Cheirogaleus crossleyi, Crossley's Dwarf Lemur
  - Cheirogaleus minusculus, Lesser Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur
- Phaner: Fork-marked Lemurs
  - Phaner furcifer, Masoala Fork-marked Lemur
  - Phaner pallescens, Pale Fork-marked Lemur
  - Phaner parienti, Sambirano Fork-marked Lemur
  - Phaner electromontis, Montagne d'Ambre Fork-marked Lemur
Chapter 8: Family Lepilemuridae
- Lepilemur: Sportive Lemurs
  - Lepilemur mustelinus, Weasel Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur betsileo, Betsileo Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur microdon, Small-toothed Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur jamesorum, Manombo Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur wrightae, Wright's Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur fleuretae, Andohahela Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur hollandorum, Mananara-Nord Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur seali, Seal's Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur scottorum, Masoala Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur milanoii, Daraina Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur ankaranensis, Ankarana Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur septentrionalis, Sahafary Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur dorsalis, Gray's Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur tymerlachsonorum, Nosy Be Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur mittermeieri, Mittermeier's Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur sahamalazensis, Sahamalaza Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur grewcockorum, Anjiamangirana Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur otto, Ambodimahabibo Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur edwardsi, Milne-Edwards' Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur aeeclis, Antafia Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur ahmansonorum, Tsiombikibo Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur randrianasoloi, Bemaraha Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur ruficaudatus, Red-tailed Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur hubbardorum, Zombitse Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur petteri, Petter's Sportive Lemur
  - Lepilemur leucopus, White-footed Sportive Lemur
Chapter 9: Family Lemuridae
- Hapalemur: Bamboo or Gentle Lemurs
  - Hapalemur griseus griseus, Gray Bamboo Lemur
  - Hapalemur griseus gilberti, Beanamalao Bamboo Lemur
  - Hapalemur griseus ranomafanensis, Ranomafana Bamboo Lemur
  - Hapalemur meridionalis, Southern Bamboo Lemur
  - Hapalemur occidentalis, Northern Bamboo Lemur
  - Hapalemur alaotrensis, Lac Alaotra Bamboo Lemur
  - Hapalemur aureus, Golden Bamboo Lemur
- Prolemur: Greater Bamboo Lemur
  - Prolemur simus, Greater Bamboo Lemur
- Lemur: Ring-tailed Lemur
  - Lemur catta, Ring-tailed Lemur
- Eulemur: True Lemurs
  - Eulemur fulvus, Brown Lemur
  - Eulemur rufus, Rufous Brown Lemur
  - Eulemur rufifrons, Red-fronted Brown Lemur
  - Eulemur albifrons, White-fronted Brown Lemur
  - Eulemur sanfordi, Sanford's Brown Lemur
  - Eulemur cinereiceps, White-collared Brown Lemur
  - Eulemur collaris, Red-collared Brown Lemur
  - Eulemur macaco, Black Lemur
  - Eulemur flavifrons, Blue-eyed Black Lemur
  - Eulemur coronatus, Crowned Lemur
  - Eulemur rubriventer, Red-bellied Lemttr
  - Eulemur mongoz, Mongoose Lemur
- Varecia: Ruffed Lemurs
  - Varecia variegata variegata, Variegated Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur
  - Varecia variegata editorum, Southern Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur
  - Varecia variegata subcincta, Northern Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur
  - Varecia rubra, Red Ruffed Lemur
Chapter 10: Family Indriidae
- Avahi: WoollyLemurs
  - Avahi laniger, Eastern Woolly Lemur
  - Avahi mooreorum, Masoala Woolly Lemur
  - Avahi peyrierasi, Peyrieras' Woolly Lemur
  - Avahi betsileo, Betsileo Woolly Lemur
  - Avahi ramanantsoavanai, Manombo Woolly Lemur
  - Avahi meridionalis, Southern Woolly Lemur
  - Avahi occidentalis, Western Woolly Lemur
  - Avahi cleesei, Bemaraha Woolly Lemur
  - Avahi unicolor, Sambirano Woolly Lemur
- Propithecus: Sifakas or Simponas
  - Propithecus verreauxi, Verreaux's Sifaka
  - Propithecus deckenii, Decken's Sifaka
  - Propithecus coronatus, Crowned Sifaka
  - Propithecus coquereli, Coquerel's Sifaka
  - Propithecus tattersalli, Tattersall's Sifaka
  - Propithecus diadema, Diademed Sifaka
  - Propithecus edwardsi, Milne-Edwards' Sifaka
  - Propithecus candidus, Silky Sifaka
  - Propithecus perrieri, Perrier's Sifaka
- Indri: Indri or Babakoto
  - Indri indri, Indri
Chapter 11: Family Daubentoniidae
- Daubentonia:Aye-aye
  - Daubentonia madagascariensis, Aye-aye
Appendix A: Maps of Madagascar
- Topography
- Principal Cities and Towns
- Principal Rivers
- Madagascar's National Parks
- Madagascar's Special Reserves and Strict Nature Reserves
Appendix B: Biogeographic Regions and Floristic Domains of Madagascar
Appendix C: Key Lemur-watching Sites in Madagascar
Appendix D: Primate-watching and Primate Life-listing
References.
Lemur Life-List
Requests for Information