Microcebus jonahi, Schüßler & Blanco & Salmona & Poelstra & Andriambeloson & Miller & Randrianambinina & Rasolofoson & Mantilla‐Contreras & Chikhi & Louis & Yoder & Radespiel, 2020

Schüßler, Dominik, Blanco, Marina B., Salmona, Jordi, Poelstra, Jelmer, Andriambeloson, Jean B., Miller, Alex, Randrianambinina, Blanchard, Rasolofoson, David W., Mantilla‐Contreras, Jasmin, Chikhi, Lounès, Louis, Edward E., Yoder, Anne D. & Radespiel, Ute, 2020, Ecology and morphology of mouse lemurs (Microcebus spp.) in a hotspot of microendemism in northeastern Madagascar, with the description of a new species, American Journal of Primatology 82 (9), pp. e 23180-e 23180 : 14-15

Species: Microcebus jonahi species nova

5.2 | Holotype

B34 , adult male, captured on September 06, 2017 by D. S. Tissue samples, hair samples, as well as e‐ voucher photos of the animal are stored at the Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Germany . The animal itself was released after field handling, sampling, and photographing, since its taxonomic distinctiveness was not recognized at the time of capture. Field measurements (all lengths measured in mm): ear length: 17.6, ear width: 13.7, head length: 37.7, head width: 23.0, snout length: 10.0, intraorbital distance: 8.2, interorbital distance: 26.0, lower leg length: 41.7, hindfoot length: 24.5, third toe length: 10.6, body length: 95.6, tail length: 130.0, body mass: 66 g. The population around Ambavala is designated as the source population for physical specimens in support of the holotype.

5.3 | Type locality

Forest near the rural village of Ambavala (S 16° 12.307′, E 49° 35.371′), in a community protected forest at about 342 m a.s.l. approx. 20 km west of Mananara Avaratra (Mananara‐ Nord) , Province of Analanjirofo, Madagascar.

5.4 | Paratypes

( a) BD1 , adult female, captured in the community protected forest of Antsiradrano (near Ambavala) on September 04, 2017. Tissue and hair samples as well as photographs and morphometric measurements are stored at the Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover, Germany .

(b) B13 , adult male, captured in the community protected forest near Ambavala on September 11, 2017. Tissue and hair samples as well as photographs and morphometric measurements are stored at the Institute of Zoology of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover in Germany.

It is planned that one physical specimen will be obtained as a further paratype soon and that this specimen will then be deposited in the Museum of the Zoology Department of the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar . Although not being a standard procedure, this method is most appropriate for endangered primates that should not be prematurely sacrificed if the taxonomic assignment is not yet clear. The same procedure was used for the scientific description of M. gerpi ( Radespiel et al., 2012) for which a paratype individual had been collected during a subsequent field mission and was then deposited at the University of Antananarivo .

5.5 | Description

Microcebus jonahi is a large‐ bodied, reddish‐ brown, and small‐ eared mouse lemur (Figure 7). This species has short and dense fur. The head is rufous colored with a darker brownish area around the eyes, which can slightly vary among individuals. A distinct white stripe lies between the eyes ending at the forehead (Figure 7c). The ears are of the same rufous color as the head. The cheeks are lighter brownish and less rufous than the head becoming even lighter and almost white toward the throat. The ventrum is white with slightly yellowish nuances (Figure 7d), which can vary in appearance among individuals. The dorsum is rather uniformly brown than reddish (Figure 7e). A darker dorsal stripe can be either present or absent. The ventrum and dorsum are separated by a significant change in coloration with only marginal transition. The coloration of the limbs shows the same pattern with a brownish dorsal and a white to slightly yellowish ventral side. The tail is densely furred and of the same coloration as the dorsum. Hands and feet show only sparse but whitish‐ gray hair. The skin on the palmar and plantar surfaces of hands and feet is brownish pink. Males and females do not show any sexual dimorphism.

5.6 | Habitat information

M. jonahi individuals were captured at altitudes between 42 and 356 m a.s.l. Out of the 25 captured individuals, six were caught in neaprimary forest (= low degradation) with a rather continuous canopy and five were captured in highly degraded forests with discontinuous canopy cover and strong regrowth of early successional trees. The majority of individuals (N = 14) were captured in 2 – 4 m high stands of the perennial Madagascar cardamom ( Aframomum angustifolium ), sometimes intermixed with trees along the forest edges. At Antanambe ( Figure 1 ), a total of 39 individuals were sighted of which 35 were found in forest habitats of different degradation stages. No M. jonahi were sighted in treeless secondary vegetation except for dense Aframomum angustifolium habitats. It currently inhabits one protected area (Mananara‐ Nord NP) and a community managed forest area around the village of Ambavala ( Schüssler et al., 2018).

5.7 | Diagnosis

M. jonahi can be distinguished from other taxa in northeastern Madagascar by morphometric features and genomic distinctiveness. Compared with its closest relative, M. macarthurii , M. jonahi is longer, has a shorter tail, wider ears, a larger head width and a shorter head length. In addition, M. jonahi can be differentiated from M. macarthurii by its ventral coloration which is rather whitish (Figure 6), but distinctly yellowish orange in M. macarthurii ( Radespiel et al., 2008; Radespiel & Raveloson, unpublished data).

Moreover, it can be easily distinguished from the sympatric, small‐ bodied M. lehilahytsara (at Ambavala) by its higher body mass, larger body size, and longer tail length. Finally, M. jonahi can be differentiated from its southern geographical neighbor, M. simmonsi , by its shorter ear length and its larger inter‐ and intraorbital distances. M. jonahi could be unambiguously distinguished from the other four taxa in this study across all analyses of nuclear RADseq data ( Poelstra et al., 2020). However, it may not be reliably distinguished from M. macarthurii based solely on mitochondrial sequences, likely due to some introgression from M. jonahi into M. macarthurii in the past ( Poelstra et al., 2020).

5.8 | Etymology

M. jonahi is named in honor of Malagasy primatologist Professor Jonah Ratsimbazafy. He has dedicated his life's work to the conservation of Malagasy lemurs. With both national and international outreach to the scientific community (e.g., GERP, IPS, LemursPortal), to the public of Madagascar (e.g., by initiating the World Lemur Festival), and to the political leaders of Madagascar, he serves as an inspirational role model for young Malagasy students and scientists. He provides hope for the future of Madagascar and for its iconic lemurs during very challenging times.

5.9 | Vernacular name

English name: Jonah's mouse lemur, French name: Microcèbe de Jonah, German name: Jonah's Mausmaki.

Figures

F I G U R E 3 Selected morphometric measurements of Microcebus spp. in northeastern Madagascar. Comparison based on one‐way ANOVA (p <.001 for all parameters) and grouping (letters above values) according to Tukey post hoc tests. Plots for all parameters in Figure S1. ANOVA, analysis of variance; leh, M. lehilahytsara (at Mantadia NP); mac, M. macarthurii (at Anjiahely); mit, M. mittermeieri (at Anjiahely); sim, M. simmonsi (at Ambodiriana); sp.3, M. sp. #3 (at Ambavala and Antanambe)