Two New Lemurs Discovered
Posted by: Loren Coleman on February 21st, 2008
Lemurs who star in “Lemur Street” on the Animal Planet series.
Cryptomundo has documented the recent discoveries of three new lemurs by the staff of the little zoo out in Omaha. Today, it was announced they have been involved in the findings of two more.
Congratulations to them!
Here are the details:
Scientists at Henry Doorly Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research have identified two new species of lemurs in Madagascar.
One of the animals is named in honor of the Suzanne and Walter Scott Jr. Foundation. The foundation, established by the Omaha couple, has supported the zoo’s conservation efforts.
The Scott’s sportive lemur is an agile animal with grayish brown fur and a black-tipped tail. Its scientific name is Lepilemur scottorum.
The second lemur is the Moore’s woolly lemur, Avahi mooreorum. It has brown-gray fur and a reddish tail. Its name honors the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation of San Francisco. The foundation has supported conservation and biodiversity in endangered areas.
Lemurs are primates, and finding a new species of primate is rare. But the Omaha zoo has identified 18 new lemur species in Madagascar in the last three years.
The discoveries demonstrate the need to learn more about the flora and fauna of that country, says Edward Louis, director of the zoo’s Madagascar Biodiversity & Biogeography Project.
Louis has conducted research in Madagascar for more than 10 years. He had assistance on the recent discoveries from Runhua Lei, a member of the project team.
Source: “Henry Doorly Zoo scientists identify two new lemur species,” by Jan Palmer, World Herald, Omaha, Thursday, February 21, 2008.
[No photographs of the new lemurs are available yet. Check back later to see if I’ve added any new releases. ~ Loren]
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
This is Exciting news, more to come, more to explore, thanks for the updates Loren.
The three mouse lemurs are cute. There are also the legendary Giant Lemurs that have been reported from many different parts of Madagascar.
GREAT!!!!
Madagascar is a place where the animals have uniquely evolved, some being rather bizarre and found nowhere else. Like other places that have evolved in isolation without outside influences, like Australia and the Galapagos islands, it has the potential of offering some very interesting new finds. There are also remote areas that are little studied, so I think there are very likely more of these kinds of discoveries in the future. There are a good many species of lemur, some quite elusive, so I think there are probably even more out there to be found, and even the idea that the giant lemur could still survive is not entirely far fetched to me.
Fantastic news!! I agree with Mystery Man. This is very good news indeed, a giant lemur is not beyond reality at all.