Randrianasolo's sportive lemur

Randrianasolo's sportive lemur (Lepilemur randrianasoloi), or the Bemaraha sportive lemur, is a sportive lemur endemic to a small area of western Madagascar. It is threatened by habitat loss.[1]

Randrianasolo's sportive lemur
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Strepsirrhini
Family: Lepilemuridae
Genus: Lepilemur
Species:
L. randrianasoloi
Binomial name
Lepilemur randrianasoloi
Andriaholinirina et al., 2017[3]
Distribution of L. randrianasoloi[1]

Taxonomy and phylogenetics

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Randrianasolo's sportive lemur was originally described in 2006 as L. randriansoli, in honor of the Malagasy researcher Georges Randrianasolo.[4] However, the name was misspelled and was corrected to L. randrianasoloi in 2009.[5] The original 2006 description was entirely online, and therefore did not meet the pre-2012 ICZN standards to be a valid name.[6] It was therefore given a follow-up description in 2017.[3]

Genetic analyses show Randrianasolo's sportive lemur to be sister to the Antafia sportive lemur.[7]

Description

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Randrianasolo's sportive lemur differs from all other members of genus Lepilemur, except the antafia sportive lemur and the red-tailed sportive lemur, by its number of chromosomes (2N=40). It differs from the other two species by its slightly smaller size, narrower but longer head, and cytochrome b sequence. Additionally, the hind feet are longer than in the red-tailed sportive lemur.[4][3]

It has a total length of about 49 to 56 cm (19 to 22 in), of which 21–26 cm (8.3–10.2 in) is the tail.[8]

Distribution and habitat

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Randrianasolo's sportive lemur inhabits dry deciduous forests in a small region of western Madagascar. Known localities include Andramasay forest, Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park and a few other nearby forest fragments. It is estimated to occupy less than 2,200 km2 and is found between 47 and 139 metres above sea level.[1]

It has been proposed that the natural northern and southern limits of the species's range are the Manambolo river and Tsiribihina river, respectively.[4][3] However, this has not been tested empirically.[1]

Threats

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The most pressing threat to Randrianasolo's sportive lemur is the clearing of forests within its range for agriculture and timber extraction.[1] Additionally, an 87% reduction in this species's range is expected by 2080 due to climate change alone.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Louis, E.E.; Bailey, C.A.; Raharivololona, B.; Schwitzer, C.; Ratsimbazafy, J.; Wilmet, L. (2020). "Lepilemur randrianasoloi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T136254A115581313. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T136254A115581313.en.
  2. ^ "Checklist of CITES Species". CITES. UNEP-WCMC. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Andriaholinirina, N.; Fausser, J.; Roos, C.; Zinner, D; Thalmann, U.; Rabarivola, C.; Ravoarimanana, I.; Ganzhorn, J.; Meier, B.; Hilgartner, R.; Walter, L.; Zaramody, A.; Langer, C.; Hahn, T.; Zimmermann, E.; Radespiel, U.; Craul, M.; Tomiuk, J.; Tattersall, I.; Rumpler, Y.; et al. (July 2017). "Corrective paper concerning three new species of the genus Lepilemur Geoffroy, 1851 (Mammalia)". Dumerilia. 7: 62–71.
  4. ^ a b c Andriaholinirina, Nicole; Fausser, Jean-Luc; Roos, Christian; Zinner, Dietmar; Thalmann, Urs; Rabarivola, Clément; Ravoarimanana, Iary; Ganzhorn, Jörg U; Meier, Bernhard; Hilgartner, Roland; Walter, Lutz; Zaramody, Alphonse; Langer, Christoph; Hahn, Thomas; Zimmermann, Elke (December 2006). "Molecular phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the sportive lemurs (Lepilemur, Primates)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 6 (1): 17. Bibcode:2006BMCEE...6...17A. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-6-17. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 1397877. PMID 16504080.
  5. ^ Hoffman, M.; Grubb, P.; Groves, C.P.; Hutterer, R.; Van der Straeten, E.; Simmons, N.; Bergmans, W. (2009). "A synthesis of African and western Indian Ocean Island mammal taxa (Class: Mammalia) described between 1988 and 2008: an update to Allen (1939) and Ansell (1989)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2205: 1–36. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2205.1.1.
  6. ^ "Electronic publication made available with amendment to the Code | International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature". www.iczn.org. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  7. ^ Lei, Runhua; Frasier, Cynthia L.; Hawkins, Melissa T. R.; Engberg, Shannon E.; Bailey, Carolyn A.; Johnson, Steig E.; McLain, Adam T.; Groves, Colin P.; Perry, George H.; Nash, Stephen D.; Mittermeier, Russell A.; Louis, Edward E. (2016-10-03). "Phylogenomic Reconstruction of Sportive Lemurs (genus Lepilemur ) Recovered from Mitogenomes with Inferences for Madagascar Biogeography". Journal of Heredity. 108 (2): 107–119. doi:10.1093/jhered/esw072. ISSN 0022-1503. PMID 28173059.
  8. ^ Garbutt, Nick (2007). Mammals of Madagascar, A Complete Guide. p. 132.
  9. ^ Brown, Jason L.; Yoder, Anne D. (2015). "Shifting ranges and conservation challenges for lemurs in the face of climate change". Ecology and Evolution. 5 (6): 1131–1142. Bibcode:2015EcoEv...5.1131B. doi:10.1002/ece3.1418. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 4377258. PMID 25859320.