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[Josh Greenman <josh.greenman AT gmail.com>]

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7818

Madagascar reveals two new species of lemur

Madagascar, nicknamed the "8th Continent" because of its diversity of
species, continues to reveal new secrets - and they do not get much
cuter than this. Biologists have discovered two new species of lemur,
endangered primates that are ancestral to monkeys and apes, and that
exist now only on the island. The finds bring the total number of
known lemur species to 49.

The first discovery was made when scientists analysed morphological,
genetic and behavioural data from distinct populations of what they
thought was the giant mouse lemur. Peter Kappeler, of the German
Primate Centre in Göttingen, Germany, found that the populations were
actually different species and named the new one Mirza zaza.

The second new species (pictured) is a mouse lemur, identified by
morphological and genetic analyses by Robert Zingg of Zoo Zürich in
Switzerland. It has been named Microcebus lehilahytsara. Surprisingly,
it was discovered in Andasibe, a protected area on the east of the
island that is considered one of the biologically best-known sites in
Madagascar.
Scratching the surface

"The discovery of these two new species highlights the fact that we
still have a lot to learn about patterns and causes of biodiversity,
even among our closest biological cousins," says Kappeler.

Lesley Dickie, a Madagascar expert at London Zoo, UK, says that lemur
diversity is turning out be far more complex than originally thought,
and reflects the ecological complexity of the island. "In reality, the
lemurs are the most intensively studied of the mammal fauna, [yet] in
many ways we have only scratched the surface," she notes.

The new findings will be presented on 10 August at the Congress of the
European Federation for Primatology in Göttingen.