Avahi cleesei: New SpecIes

Urs Thalmann & Thomas Geissmann, 2005, New Species of Woolly Lemur Avahi (Primates: Lemuriformes) in Bemaraha (Central Western Madagascar), AmerIcan Journal of PrImatology 67, pp. 371-376 : 373-375

Avahi cleesei: New SpecIes

Bemaraha form [Thalmann & Geissmann, 2000].

Holotype ( Fig. 2)

Avahi male (body weight = 830 g) captured in Bemaraha on 3 October 1991 .

Material

Hair samples ( AIMZ 13854 .a), accompanying photographs ( AIMZ 13854 .b-n), and videotape ( AIMZ 13854 .o) and audiotape recordings ( AIMZ 13854 .p) of the specimen are stored in the Anthropological Institute and Museum of the University of Zurich ( AIMZ), Zurich, Switzerland .

Type locality

18°59̸S, 44°45̸E, approximately 3 km east-northeast of the village Ambalarano, western Madagascar ( Fig. 1).

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Etymology

Named in honor of British actor and comedian John Cleese for his promotion of conservation issues in movies such as Fierce Creatures [Chepisi & Young, 1997] and documentaries such as Born to be Wild: Operation Lemur With John Cleese [Kershaw & Cleese, 1999].

Diagnosis

Distinguished from A. occidentalis by its lack of a white facial mask and broad dark eye-rings, and from both A. occidentalis and A. unicolor by the presence of a dark chevron pattern on the forehead.

Description ( Fig. 2)

The face of A. cleesei is only slightly paler than the upper forehead and crown. The facial area above the nose extends upward toward the forehead ( Fig. 2 c). This upward extension contrasts with the virtually opposite pattern created by the triangle of forehead pelage that invades the facial area in other western Avahi (e.g., A. occidentalis and A. unicolor ). The forehead fur immediately bordering the facial area is blackish and forms a dark chevron pattern above the facial area. The eyes are maroon and have black, hairless eyelids. The snout is also black and hairless. The fur surrounding the corners of mouth is whitish. The fur on the head and body has a brown-gray coloration and a woolly (slightly curled) flecked appearance. The tail is beige or brown-gray, and is slightly reddish only on the dorsal side of the root. The inner dorsal surface of the lower limbs is white. The fur of the chest, belly, and inner surface of the upper limbs is relatively thin, downy, and very light gray.

Distribution

This species has been found only in the Tsingy de Bemaraha region north of the Manambolo River. The northern limit is unclear. There is no evidence from surveys and interviews that it is distributed in the wider surroundings of Bemaraha [Ausilio & Raveloanrinoro, 1998; Sterling, 1998], the Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve (between the Sambao and Mahavavy rivers [Hawkins et al., 1998; Thalmann et al., 1999], or between the Mahavavy and Betsiboka rivers [Curtis, 1997; Thalmann & Geissmann, 2000].

Vernacular names

Locally, these animals are called Dadintsifaky, which translates to ‘‘grandparent of the sifaky’’ ( Propithecus ). As a vernacular name in English, we propose Cleese’s woolly lemur or Bemaraha woolly lemur.

CONSERVATION

Avahi cleesei clearly falls into the category of Endangered ( EN) as established by the IUCN Red List [IUCN, 2001], according to the following criteria (B1ac(i, ii, iii, v)): the extent of occurrence is estimated to be less than 5,000 km 2 ( B 1), the species is known in just one location ( B 1a), and the known population is declining ( B 1c) in the extent of occurrence (i); area of occupancy (ii); area, extent, and/or quality of habitat (iii); and number of mature individuals (v).

However, more detailed analyses and surveys may reveal that the taxon should be moved to the Critically Endangered ( CR) category. For example, the disturbed forest close to the village of Ankinajao, which supported a substantial number of individuals in 1994 [Thalmann & Geissmann, 2000], had been cut completely by 2003 (Thalmann, unpublished data). The subhumid forest at the base of the escarpment of the Tsingy de Bemaraha is under continuous pressure from bush fires that reduce it in many places every year–in some places to only a few meters in width. Such subhumid forests are the only habitat in which Avahi cleesei is known to occur so far.