For Immediate Release Contact: Greg Borzo (312) 665-7106 gborzo@fieldmuseum.org Goodman’s mouse lemur The genetic analyses to determine the taxonomic status of the two Mirza populations unexpectedly revealed the existence of a new species of mouse lemur, Microcebus lehilahytsara. Earlier this year, Robert Zingg and Samuel Führer brought nine living individuals from Andasibe to Zoo Zürich in Switzerland, where additional morphometric and genetic analyses confirmed their separate taxonomic status. The genus Microcebus traditionally has been comprised of eight species, six of which were described from western Madagascar only in the past decade. Now there are nine species of Microcebus. Genetic analyses also revealed that this new mouse lemur from Andasibe, a popular tourist site in the eastern rainforest, diverged more than 2 million years ago from other mouse lemur populations in the region. Microcebus lehilahytsara, the newly discovered species, lives in eastern Madagascar’s rainforest. Only a little bigger than a big mouse, this arboreal, nocturnal mouse lemur has short, rounded ears, with a white stripe on the bridge of its nose. Its short, dense fur is bright maroon with an orange tinge on the back, head and tail, turning creamy white on its stomach. Lehilahytsara means "good man" in Malagasy. The German primatologists chose this name to honor Steve Goodman, scientist with The Field Museum in Chicago and WWF in Madagascar. "Goodman’s field research in all remote parts of Madagascar has contributed enormously to our knowledge about the diversity of Madagascar’s unique and threatened fauna and flora," Kappeler says. "It is truly an honor to have such an animal named after me," Goodman says, "but this is really a joint tribute to all of the scientists and students who have taken part in our multidisciplinary surveys over the past 16 years." Little is known about the ranges and population numbers of the two new lemur species. The habitat of Mirza zaza is already highly fragmented. Microcebus lehilahytsara is found within a protected reserve, but the surrounding rainforest is also heavily threatened by slash-and-burn activities. "It is simply remarkable that M. lehilahytsara was obtained at Andasibe, a protected area of forest that is considered one of the biologically best known sites on the island and is the most heavily visited by ecotourists," Goodman says. "The fact that such an area holds a primate previously unknown to science underscores how much still needs to be done to document the biota of this extraordinary island." Goodman and Jonathan Benstead are coeditors of the 1,700-page The Natural History of Madagascar (University of Chicago Press, 2003), the definitive book on the world’s most important island in terms of ecology and conservation. Digital image available by email: Goodman’s mouse lemur The newly discovered Microcebus lehilahytsara is a distant relative of man’s ancestors and therefore important to understanding human origins and evolution. Photo by Robert Zingg <<Back to the Press Room