Sibree’s Dwarf Lemur rediscovered

Researchers have discovered the world’s only known living population of Sibree’s Dwarf Lemur, a rare lemur known only in eastern Madagascar. The discovery of approximately a thousand of these lemurs was made by Mitchell Irwin, a Research Associate at McGill University, and colleagues from the German Primate Centre in Göttingen Germany; the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar; and the University of Massachusetts.

The species was first discovered in Madagascar in 1896, but this tiny, nocturnal dwarf lemur was never studied throughout the 20th century. Following the destruction of its only known rainforest habitat, scientists had no idea whether the species still existed in the wild – or even whether it was a distinct species. The study will be published in the current issue of the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.

www.cryptomundo.com...
Theres more in the article/blog if you want to read about it.


Link to the image of the Sibree’s Dwarf Lemur from the article.

It always nice to hear about a species being rediscovered. Their habitat was destroyed by humans, im assuming and we thought they were extinct. Hopefully we have learned from our mistake and can try and make sure this doesnt happen again.

[edit on 24-4-2010 by FoxMulder91]

Excellent news.

I can't help but notice that with a population of approximately 19 million people in an area of land measuring 581,540 square kilometers, the discovery of 1000 primates assumed to be extinct on madagascar would seem to lend support to the idea that a primate, even a large one like sasquatch - could have gone undetected in an area like Oregon where such creatures are reported.
By comparison Oregon state covers 255,026 square kilometers, just under half that covered by madagascar but has a population of only 3 to 4 million.

Great news, in fact that specie was not given as extinct, it was just out of sight.


Hopefully this will help to increase the conservation of that specie habitat and consequently others.

[edit on 24-4-2010 by watchman360]