Lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur

Lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Primates
Suborder:	Strepsirrhini
Family:	Cheirogaleidae
Genus:	Cheirogaleus
Species:	C. minusculus
Binomial name
Cheirogaleus minusculus Groves, 2000[3]
Lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur range[1]

The lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus minusculus), or large iron-gray dwarf lemur, is a small nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar. It is nocturnal and an arboreal quadruped, and is not very agile. It produces three types of vocalisation: a squeak, which is high in pitch and is produced with the mouth closed, and is used between infants and their mothers; a whistle, which is higher in pitch than the squeak, so it is hard to hear with human ears, and is used as a communicative and possibly territorial call; and a grunt, which is usually given in series and is very powerful, used when an individual is being attacked in its nest.[4]

This species is only known to exist from one museum specimen from Ambositra, north of Fianarantsoa in east-central Madagascar. As of 2010, no studies in the wild have been conducted of the lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur, and it is unknown whether it still survives in this region. There are no reports of it being kept in captivity.[5]

References

1. Andriaholinirina, N.; et al. (2014). "Cheirogaleus minusculus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T136800A16111635. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T136800A16111635.en. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
2. Harcourt, C. (1990). Thornback, J (ed.). Lemurs of Madagascar and the Comoros: The IUCN Red Data Book (PDF). World Conservation Union. ISBN 978-2-88032-957-0. OCLC 28425691.
3. Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 112. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494.
4. Flannery, Sean. "Small Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus minusculus)". www.theprimata.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
5. "Cheirogaleus minusculus Groves, 2000 | Lemurs of Madagascar". lemursofmadagascar.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2017-03-20.