Northern giant mouse lemur

The Northern or Small Riesenmausmaki ( Mirza zaza ) is a primate of the group of lemurs. That there is a need to be distinguished from the Southern Riesenmausmaki separate species with him, only in 2005 by researchers at the German Primate Center (DPZ ) and the Georg-August -Universität Göttingen has been detected.

Features

Northern Riesenmausmakis reach a body length 23-25 ​​cm and a tail length of 26-29 centimeters. They weigh 265-320 grams, they are thus somewhat smaller than their southern relatives. Her short coat is gray -brown on the top and on the head, sometimes going towards red, the underside is rather gray. The long, bushy tail is darker towards the tip. The head is rounded, the eyes are relatively large, the ears are round and much smaller than their southern relatives.

Distribution and habitat

Northern Riesenmausmakis come like all lemurs before only on the island of Madagascar, where they inhabit the north-western parts of the country. The exact limits of its range are not known, it extends from the Ampasindava Peninsula Region Sambirano possibly up to the National Park Tsingy de Namoroka. Their habitat are predominantly dry forests, sometimes they are also found in plantations.

Way of life

These primates are nocturnal. During the day they sleep in self-made nests of twigs and leaves, at night they go in search of food, where they mainly move around on all fours through the branches. In contrast to the Southern Riesenmausmakis they are social animals, often sleep two to eight animals together in one nest. They are omnivorous, which probably feed on fruits, other parts of plants and also small animals such as insects.

Even in reproduction, there are differences to the southern relatives. Mating takes place partially in July or August and the type likely to be somewhat promiscuous.

Endangering

The exact level of danger is not known due to the lack of clarity about the extent of its range. Habitat destruction by burning and deforestation are likely to pose a threat, on the other hand, the animals can live in secondary forests and plantations. The IUCN lists the species under "too little data available " ( data deficient ).