Cheirogaleus major, E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812

Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Cheirogaleidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 28-65 : 61-62

25.

Greater Dwarf Lemur

Cheirogaleus major

French: Grand Chirogale / German: GroRer Fettschwanzmaki / Spanish: Lémur enano mayor

Other common names: Geoffroy's Dwarf Lemur

Taxonomy. Cheirogaleus major E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812 ,

Madagascar, Fort-Dauphin (supposedly).

In 2009, L. Groeneveld and her coworkers found three terminal clades within C. major . This species is currently considered monotypic, but some or all of these clades, may turn out tobe distinct species.

Distribution. N, E & WC Madagascar from the SE tip of the island near Tolagnaro (= Fort-Dauphin) to near the N tip, with an isolated population in the CW, in the S in humid forests of the Vohimena and Anosy mountains and the littoral forest at Mandena, and possibly Sainte-Luce.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 28-29 cm, tail 27-28 cm; weight 314 g (November) to 414 g (February). The Greater Dwarf Lemuris the largest member of the genus. The body is covered with dense, grayish-brown fur above, and the underside is dark creamygray with traces of yellow. The dorsal midline stripe, if present at all, is dark reddishbrown and vaguely expressed. The muzzle is rounded and dark, and the face is pale, with this lighter region not extending above the level of the eyes. Eye-rings are dark but poorly marked. Ears are either naked or very sparsely furred and are not darkly pigmented. The tail is longer than the head-body length.

Habitat. Primary and secondary eastern lowland rainforest and montane forest from sea level to 1800 m, as well as (marginally) western dry forest. Greater Dwarf Lemurs are also found in coffee and lychee plantations. It generally occurs at an average height of 12:2 m in the canopy and prefers large trees for feeding, traveling, and resting.

Food and Feeding. The Greater Dwarf Lemur feeds mainly on fruits and flowers, young vine leaves (such as Plectaneia sp. , Apocynaceae ), and buds, with insect prey constituting only a minor part ofits diet. Fruits eaten include Mammea sp. ( Clusiaceae ), Ficus sp. (Moraceae) , Ravensara sp. ( Lauraceae ), Aphloia theiformis ( Aphloiaceae ), Psidium cattleyanum ( Myrtaceae ), Psychotria sp. (Rubiaceae) , and Bakerella grisea ( Loranthaceae ). Flower nectar, particularly from Strongylodon sp. (Fabaceae) , seems to be a particularly important food item just after individuals emerge from estivation in November—December. When an individual feeds on the nectar from Strongylodon sp. , it parts the petals of the flower with its hands and then licks the nectar. The individual licks for 2-7 minutes before moving on to another flower. Studies suggest that the Greater Dwarf Lemur may be an important pollinator for at least one species of liana (S. craveniae).

Breeding. Females have a 30-day reproductive cycle, with estrus lasting up to five days and indicated by swelling and opening of the vagina. During the mating season (i.e. shortly after emergence from torpor in late September), testes enlarge noticeably. Mating occurs as follows: first, the male holds the female with his hands, and then licks her flanks and neck, at the same time occasionally vocalizing and wagging his tail; the female responds to these actions by lying ventrally on the substrate; and copulation bouts last 2-3 minutes, separated by ten-minute intervals. In December or January, before giving birth, the female builds a leaf nest 6-12 m above the ground. A litter of two, sometimes three, young is produced in January-February, after a gestation of ¢.70 days. Neonates are furred (mouse gray), but they are born with eyes closed and quite helpless. The mother carries them around in her mouth atfirst, but they soon learn to cling to the fur on her back. Captive individuals have lived as long as 13-4 years.

Activity patterns. The Greater Dwarf Lemur is nocturnal and arboreal. It is typically found in forests where water and food availability are not as seasonally restricted as in drier western deciduous forests. Nevertheless,it is active during the more wet and humid summer months in late September to May and enters an extended period of torpor in a tree hole or hollow during the dry Malagasy winter. Individuals prepare for this estivation by storing fat in the tail, perhaps accounting for ¢.30% ofits body weight.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Relativelylittle is known of the social behavior of the Greater Dwarf Lemur . Like its smaller congeneric the Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur ( C. medius ), it seems to be monogamous and to live in small family groups, presumably consisting of an adult pair and their offspring from previous years. Median home-range size in the littoral forest of Mandena (10 km north-east of Tolagnaro) is 4-4 ha. Home ranges of family group members overlap to a large extent. Family groups almost always share their sleeping sites, which are usually tree holes at heights of 8-11 m in large trees. In Mandena, groups only used 1-2 sleeping sites each during two consecutive rainy seasons. The Greater Dwarf Lemur seems to be a gregarious forager, with groups of 2-5 individuals observed in close proximity in the same tree during 37-49% of observations in Mandena and Analamazoatra. Densities have been estimated at 59-110 ind/km? in different locations. Nevertheless, it should be noted that a number of these observations were made in Andasibe (= Périnet), which would mean that they refer to Crossley’s Dwarf Lemur ( C. crossleyi ) under the new taxonomic arrangement of C. P. Groves. The Greater Dwarf Lemur is sympatric with Crossley’s Dwarf Lemur and the Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur ( C. medius ) in parts of its range.

Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. However, at the IUCN/SSC Lemur Red-Listing Workshop held in July 2012, the Greater Dwarf Lemur was assessed as data deficient due to the precise limits of its distribution being unclear in the wake of recent taxonomic changes. The Greater Dwarf Lemuris still widespread and abundant despite recent taxonomic splitting. It is reported to occur in eight national parks (Andohahela, Andringitra, Mananara-Nord, Marojejy, Masoala, Midongy du Sud, Montagne d’Ambre, and Ranomafana ), two strict nature reserves (Betampona and Tsaratanana), three special reserves (Anjanaharibe-Sud, Mangerivola, and Pic d’Ivohibe), and Mandena Conservation Zone, east of Tolagnaro. Densities in some of these locations seem to be comparatively low, and densities of the Greater Dwarf Lemur are lower in close proximity to the forest edge.

Bibliography. Feistner & Schmid (1999), Fietz (2003), Ganzhorn (1988), Goodman (2003), Groeneveld et al. (2009), Groves (2000a, 2001), Hapke et al. (2005), Harcourt & Thornback (1990), Lahann (2007), Lehman, Rajaonson & Day (2006), Mittermeier et al. (2010), Napier & Napier (1967), Nicoll & Langrand (1989), Nilsson et al. (1993), O'Connor et al. (1986), Petter-Rousseaux (1964), Pollock (1979b), Sterling & McFadden (2000), Sterling & Rakotoarison (1998), Van Horn & Eaton (1979), Wright & Martin (1995), Wright & Porter (2004).

Figures

23. Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus medius), 24. Sibree’s Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus sibreei), 25. Greater Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus major), 26. Crossley’s Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus crossleyi), 27. Lesser Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus minusculus)

Distribution. N, E & WC Madagascar from the SE tip of the island near Tolagnaro (= Fort-Dauphin) to near the N tip, with an isolated population in the CW, in the S in humid forests of the Vohimena and Anosy mountains and the littoral forest at Mandena, and possibly Sainte-Luce.