Tiny Mouse Lemurs - M. mittermieri, jollyae, simmonsi
In the current issue of the International Journal of Primatology [abstract], Dr. Edward E. Louis, Jr, of Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo identifies three new species of mouse lemur. Mittermeier’s Mouse Lemur, Jolly’s Mouse Lemur and Simmons’s Mouse Lemur, are the three new species of discovered lemurs in the Eastern forest of Madagascar. Dr. Louis is head of the Genetics Department of the Center for Conservation and Research (CCR) at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
Microcebus mittermieri (above) is named in honor of Dr. Russell A. Mittermeier, President of Conservation International, who has strongly support primate conservation in Madagascar and around the world.
Microcebus jollyae is named in honor of Dr. Alison Jolly, Professor at Princeton University. She has been a researcher and conservationist in Madagascar since 1966, working at Berenty Private Reserve.
Microcebus simmonsi is named in honor of Dr. Lee G. Simmons, Director of Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, who has been a long-term, active supporter of conservation programs in Madagascar and throughout the world.
Mouse lemurs are the smallest primates in the world. The discovery of these tiny critters join other recentlty announced lemur discoveries including Avahi cleesei, the John Cleese/Monty Python lemur.
For more check out the National Geographic article, Three New Lemurs Discovered, Add to Madagascar’s Diversity.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Cheirogaleidae
Genus: Microcebus
Enhydris gyii AKA the Color Changing Kapuas Mud Snake
A new venomous snake with the ability to spontaneously change color has been discovered in the forests of the Heart of Borneo.
The snake was discovered by a German researcher who described it with the collaboration of two American scientists in the paper, A New Species of Enhydris (Serpentes: Colubridae: Homalopsinae) from the Kapuas River System, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.
“I put the reddish-brown snake in a dark bucket. When I retrieved it a few minutes later, it was almost entirely white,” said Dr Mark Auliya, reptile expert at the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig in Germany, and a consultant for WWF - the environmental conservation organization.
Dr Auliya collected two specimens of the 2.5 ft long snake in the wetlands and swamped forests around the Kapuas river in the Betung Kerihun National Park, an area in Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo).
The scientists named this slithery critter Enhydris gyii in honor of the late Ko Ko Gyi, an herpetologist who worked hard on the taxonomy of Homalopsinae snakes. They also suggest using “Kapuas mud snake” as the common name.
The announcement of this discovery has been all over the news including this BBC News article sent in by a NewCritter’s reader.
The genus Enhydris, to which the new snake belongs, is composed of 22 species, only two of which are widespread. All the others have a very restricted range. The scientists believe this newly discovered snake might only occur in the Kapuas River drainage system.
To learn more about Homalopsine snakes in general check out this Field Museum site.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Homalopsinae
Genus: Enhydris