Two New Lemur Species Discovered in Madagascar; German Scientists Name One Species after WWF Biologist
8/11/2005 4:36:00 PM
To: National Desk, Photo Editor
Contact: Lee Poston of the World Wildlife Fund, 202-778-9536 or lee.poston@wwfus.org
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Two new lemur species have been discovered on the island nation of Madagascar and one of them has been named after Dr. Steve Goodman, a scientist with World Wildlife Fund and Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History.
Goodman's Mouse Lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara) is barely bigger than a mouse, has a white stripe on its nose, maroon, orange and white fur, and short, rounded ears (lehilahytsara is the Malagasy word for good man). Scientists with the German Primate Center and the University of Göttingen, as well as their Malagasy collaborators, analyzed its genetic makeup and determined it was an entirely new species of mouse lemur.
The scientists named it after Goodman, coordinator of WWF's Ecology Training Program and Senior Field Biologist at The Field Museum. They wanted to recognize his almost two decades of field research and its contribution to understanding the diversity of Madagascar's unique and threatened fauna.
"It's a great privilege to have this species named after me, but it really honors all of the project members, scientists and researchers who work in the field with us over the years," Goodman said. "These discoveries underline how little we know about the fauna of Madagascar. The new species was discovered in a heavily visited and studied area of the island known as Périnet, where thousands of tourists go every year to see the famous black and white lemur known as Indri."
The second species, Mirza zaza, was named in honor of Madagascar's children, since zaza is the Malagasy word for child. It is nocturnal, weighing about 10 ounces and is the size of a gray squirrel. The scientists, Peter Kappeler, Rodan Rasoloarison, Léonard Razafimanantsoa, Lutz Walter and Christian Roos, presented their findings at a scientific meeting in Germany and published them in the current issue of Primate Report.
Lemurs exist only on Madagascar and are considered the most endangered of all primates. The discovery of two new species shows the importance of conserving Madagascar's rapidly disappearing forests.
A 16-year veteran of Madagascar's forests, Goodman has identified dozens of new wildlife and plant species and trained numerous biologists who themselves have identified a plethora of new species. He co-edited The Natural History of Madagascar, condensing the work of nearly 300 scientists into what is considered the authoritative 1,700 page volume on the country's biodiversity.
In the early 1990's WWF created the Ecology Training Program to address the scarcity of trained scientists and conservation biologists in Madagascar. Goodman was assigned as its coordinator and since then several hundred students have taken part in field courses and expeditions and about 50 of them have received degrees at national universities. One of them is the current Chief Biodiversity Scientist at WWF-Madagascar. The Malagasy authors of the new lemur species description worked closely with Goodman during their university studies, and one of them presented his Ph.D. as a student of the Ecology Training Program.
This news release and associated material can be found on http://www.worldwildlife.org
To: National Desk, Photo Editor
Contact: Lee Poston of the World Wildlife Fund, 202-778-9536 or lee.poston@wwfus.org
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Two new lemur species have been discovered on the island nation of Madagascar and one of them has been named after Dr. Steve Goodman, a scientist with World Wildlife Fund and Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History.
Goodman's Mouse Lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara) is barely bigger than a mouse, has a white stripe on its nose, maroon, orange and white fur, and short, rounded ears (lehilahytsara is the Malagasy word for good man). Scientists with the German Primate Center and the University of Göttingen, as well as their Malagasy collaborators, analyzed its genetic makeup and determined it was an entirely new species of mouse lemur.
The scientists named it after Goodman, coordinator of WWF's Ecology Training Program and Senior Field Biologist at The Field Museum. They wanted to recognize his almost two decades of field research and its contribution to understanding the diversity of Madagascar's unique and threatened fauna.
"It's a great privilege to have this species named after me, but it really honors all of the project members, scientists and researchers who work in the field with us over the years," Goodman said. "These discoveries underline how little we know about the fauna of Madagascar. The new species was discovered in a heavily visited and studied area of the island known as Périnet, where thousands of tourists go every year to see the famous black and white lemur known as Indri."
The second species, Mirza zaza, was named in honor of Madagascar's children, since zaza is the Malagasy word for child. It is nocturnal, weighing about 10 ounces and is the size of a gray squirrel. The scientists, Peter Kappeler, Rodan Rasoloarison, Léonard Razafimanantsoa, Lutz Walter and Christian Roos, presented their findings at a scientific meeting in Germany and published them in the current issue of Primate Report.
Lemurs exist only on Madagascar and are considered the most endangered of all primates. The discovery of two new species shows the importance of conserving Madagascar's rapidly disappearing forests.
A 16-year veteran of Madagascar's forests, Goodman has identified dozens of new wildlife and plant species and trained numerous biologists who themselves have identified a plethora of new species. He co-edited The Natural History of Madagascar, condensing the work of nearly 300 scientists into what is considered the authoritative 1,700 page volume on the country's biodiversity.
In the early 1990's WWF created the Ecology Training Program to address the scarcity of trained scientists and conservation biologists in Madagascar. Goodman was assigned as its coordinator and since then several hundred students have taken part in field courses and expeditions and about 50 of them have received degrees at national universities. One of them is the current Chief Biodiversity Scientist at WWF-Madagascar. The Malagasy authors of the new lemur species description worked closely with Goodman during their university studies, and one of them presented his Ph.D. as a student of the Ecology Training Program.
This news release and associated material can be found on http://www.worldwildlife.org
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