Add 2 species of gibbons to the group of primates

Scientists on March 26 have acted rarely to add two living rat lemurs to the list of primates.

This decision brought the number of mouse lemurs - animals that live on trees, specialize in going out at night and weigh just like a big apple, for a total of 20 species.

But scientists warn that one of the two new species added to the list is in danger of extinction.

Primates are highly developed mammals, including humans, gorillas, monkeys and have been studied very carefully. Adding live animals to the list is rare.

Biologists from the US, Germany and Madagascar compared DNA genetic data, body weight and length of body, skull, tooth size and coat color to claim that the Microcebus marohita and Microcebus tanosi live in Madagascar. are separate primates.

With a body length of about 13.5cm, M. marohita is currently the largest rat lemur known. If the tail is full, it is 28cm long and weighs 78 grams.

According to the report of the International Journal of Primates, this brown animal has fairly large hind legs, but the ears are small and named after the Marohita forest in Eastern Madagascar. where it is found.

Microcebus lemurs marohita. (Source: AFP)

Its relative, M. tanosi, is also quite large compared to the rat lemur, with a length of 27cm from the nose to the tail and 51.5 grams.

Discovered in the Anosy region in southeastern Madagascar, M. tanosi has a red head, brown hair, a light belly and a furry strip with a different color along the spine.

These animals were discovered in 2003 and 2007, but it took many years to determine that they were new species. This animal has a look similar to other mouse lemurs.

The team warned in their work that the Marohita forest was fragmented and devastated since the rat lemur based on the forest name was found here 10 years ago. They say lemurs coming from the Marohito forest are threatened by the devastated habitat and the number of members of this species is narrowing.

The research team wanted the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to add M. marohita to the list of endangered animals, and said M. tanosi is also vulnerable to extinction.

"Field studies and regional surveys are urgently needed to at least identify the geographical areas where the gibbons live and the population status of these species for conservation measures. Appropriate existence can be deployed ".

IUCN said that Madagascar lemurs are among the most threatened animals on Earth.

Forest felling and poaching are the main threats to the survival of lemurs in Madagascar, which have fallen into political instability after a coup in 2009. According to IUCN, the country has lost 11. million hectares of forest in the past 20 years.

In the report released last year, IUCN said that the most rare species of gibbon in northern Madagascar has decreased to 19.

Due to the geographic isolation of Madagascar, all the primates here belong to this place and nowhere else. The same goes for 90% of flora and 80% of Madagascar's amphibians and reptiles. New animals are still being discovered here and the number of newly identified lemurs has more than tripled in just a decade.