A fork-marked lemur which is believed to be new species of its kind has been found in the forests of Madagascar.
Primate expert and president of Conservation International, Russ Mittermeier, first spotted the lemur during an expedition in 1995, but has confirmed its existence whilst filming the documentary this year, when he and his colleagues captured and took blood samples from the small primate before returning it to its forest home.
Genetic testing of these samples should confirm whether the animal is indeed a new species.
Dr Mittermeier, however, is already convinced that it is.
Forked-marked lemurs belong to the genus, or group of species, called Phaner. If confirmed as a new species, this would be only the fifth member of that group.
Following the call
Dr Mittermeier first saw the squirrel-sized creature in Daraina, a protected area in the northeast of Madagascar.
"I was surprised to see a fork-marked lemur there, since this animal had not yet been recorded from the region," he recalled.
FORK-MARKED FACTS
Fork-marked lemur, which could be a species new to science
Phaner lemurs have a black, Y-shaped line that starts above each eye and joins together as a single line on the top of the head, creating the fork that gives these animals their common name
Their large hands and feet help them grip onto trees
The lemurs vocalise with the loud, high-pitched night-time call
They tend to run rapidly along horizontal tree branches and to jump from one branch to the next without pausing
Their diet consists of a high proportion of gums exuded by trees and nectar from flowers
A long tongue enables them to slurp up nectar and a specialized tooth comb acts as a scraping tool to bite into tree bark
So in October of this year, the researcher led an expedition - including geneticist Ed Louis from the Omaha Zoo and a film crew from the BBC's Natural History Unit - to the same area, where they managed to track down the animal.
The team set out just after sunset, which is when fork-marked lemurs are most vocal.
They heard one calling close to camp at the top of a tree and ran through the forest following its calls.
The researchers eventually caught sight of the animal in the torchlight, and fired a tranquilizer dart.
A team member then climbed the tree to bring the sleepy little lemur safely down to the ground, where they could examine it.
The shape of the lemur's markings, the size of its limbs and its long, nectar-slurping tongue are familiar facets of all Phaner lemurs.
But this one has a slightly different color pattern. It also displayed an unusual head-bobbing behavior that the scientists had not seen in other fork-marked lemurs.
A strange structure under the lemur's tongue could also distinguish it from its closest relatives.
And because of its very restricted range, it is likely that this will turn out to be an endangered or critically endangered species.
Facts
-Phaner lemurs have a black, Y-shaped line that starts above each eye and joins together as a single line on the top of the head, creating the fork that gives these animals their common name
-Their large hands and feet help them grip onto trees
-The lemurs vocalise with the loud, high-pitched night-time call
-They tend to run rapidly along horizontal tree branches and to jump from one branch to the next without pausing
-Their diet consists of a high proportion of gums exuded by trees and nectar from flowers
-A long tongue enables them to slurp up nectar and a specialised
toothcomb acts as a scraping tool to bite into tree bark
Courtesy : BBC Earth news
