Coquerel's Dwarf Lemur
Coquerel's dwarf lemurs are squirrel sized lemurs with a long tail and horizontal body movements. They scurry through low branches in the forest by quadrupedal running and, occasionally, by leaping from branch to branch. Coquerel's dwarf lemurs live sympatrically with the fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius) and the mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus). Despite their larger size, they are thought to be very closely related to Microcebus murinus.
Unlike their fellow small, nocturnal lemurs, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur and the mouse lemur, seasonal weight gain does not occur in this species. In the wild the animals stay about the same weight year round, and they do not enter a season of torpor.
Feeding
Coquerel's dwarf lemurs are nocturnal omnivores, with a varied diet that includes a variety of fruits, insects, spiders, leaves, small birds, chameleons, flowers, buds, and tree gum. Another favorite food, available only in certain seasons, and especially favored by the lemurs during the winter months when food is scarce, is the secretions of the larvae of certain Homopteran insects. At certain times of the year, wild Coquerel's dwarf lemurs might depend on these insect secretions for over 50% of their food intake. Foraging usually occurs at the lower levels of the canopy, and this lemur has even been seen on the ground. Coquerel's dwarf lemurs can apparently survive in secondary forest, and it has even been sighted around coffee plantations. There have been some reports from farmers that these lemurs invade local cashew plantations to feed on the nuts.
Fact Sheet
Order: Primates; Suborder: Prosimii
Family: Cheirogaleidae; Genus: Mirza
Species: coquereli
Related Species
Although there are several other small nocturnal lemurs, the Coquerel's dwarf lemur is the only member of the Genus Mirza.
Key Facts
Adult Size : 9 ½ ounces to 12 ½ ounes
Social life : Solitary forager, strictly nocturnal, sleeps in groups of up to 5 individuals
Habitat : north and central western dry deciduous forests
Diet : fruits, flowers, buds, gums, insects, insect secretions, spiders, frogs, chameleons and small birds.
Lifespan : 15 - 20 years in the wild
Sexual maturity : 2 years
Mating : Thought to be a non-seasonal breeder
Gestation : 3 months, infants are born in January
Number of young : one - four infants per litter, one litter each year
DLC Naming theme : Malagasy animals (Jijy, Ankana, Gory, etc.)
Malagasy names : Tsiba, Tilitilivaha, Siba, Setohy, Fitily
Interesting Fact
- Coquerel's dwarf lemurs sleep in large nests 7 - 35 feet (2-10m) off the ground.
Reproduction
Unlike most lemurs, a captive Coquerel's dwarf lemur female might cycle throughout the year. Hence breeding can occur at any time, and does not appear to be at all seasonal. During estrus, a female's genitalia becomes noticeably swollen and changes color. When a female nears estrus, a male might follow her closely, constantly sniffing to monitor her status. After breeding, a sperm plug often forms in the female's vagina, theoretically preventing her from breeding with another male. After a gestation of around 90 days, litters of one or two infants are born. Infants weigh 15-20 grams at birth. The infants leave the nest in independent exploratory jaunts when they are about three to four weeks old, but during their first few weeks of life, the mother might carry them in her mouth if she needs to move the young. When the young are old enough to get around on their own and are fully weaned, they will forage entirely separately from their mothers, although they still might share the same home range.
Unlike captive populations, wild populations of Coquerel's dwarf lemur in Madagascar appear to have a definite breeding season, during which time the testes of the males become enlarged significantly, and females begin to advertise the onset of estrus with loud piercing vocalizations. Mating occurs in October, and given the females' penchant for very vocal advertisement of their condition, and the males' huge testes size, breeding in this species is more than likely promiscuous with cycling females breeding with numerous males.
Social Behavior
Coquerel's dwarf lemurs are usually solitary and always nocturnal. They spend the days sleeping in spherical nests constructed from interwoven lianas, twigs and leaves, and usually located in the fork of a tree about 2-10 meters off the ground and about 1-2 meters below the top of the tree. Nests are generally occupied by solitary adults, or females with infants. Each individual has up to twelve nests in its home range, although up to half of them might be in a state of disrepair. At dusk, the lemurs leave their nests to begin foraging. In cold weather, animals will leave their nests later in the evening and return earlier in the morning.
These nocturnal lemurs spend the first half of the night engaged in solitary activities such as feeding, devoting the last half of the night to more social activities such as vocalizations and encounters with conspecifics which may lead to mutual resting, grooming and even play.
Females occupy stable, overlapping home ranges of three to four hectares. The size of the male's range varies considerably throughout the year depending on whether it is breeding season. Most of the year, home territory of a male is the same size as that of females-- three or four hectares, but during the mating season, males range over a much wider area, up to 25 hectares, and at this time a male's range might overlap with the range of up to fifteen females.
Habitat/Conservation
Coquerel's dwarf lemurs are discontinuously distributed along the west coast of Madagascar, mostly in dry deciduous forests. There is a gap of nearly 600 km between the two major sections of this lemur's range, and it has been suggested that each segment might contain a different subspecies of this lemur. Another undocumented population of the species might also occur between these two major habitats. Within the dry forests of western Madagascar, Coquerel's dwarf lemurs are generally found along rivers and semi-permanent ponds, where the forest is thicker and slightly taller than in the drier areas.
The conservation status of the Coquerel's dwarf lemur in Madagascar is difficult to assess at this time. It seems adaptable and can survive, perhaps even thrive, in secondary forest. It is found in three reserves, Bemaraha Nature Reserve, Andranomena Special Reserve and the private reserve of Analabe, and in some areas it might exist in fairly high densities. However, the western dry forest of Madagascar is becoming increasingly fragmented, so it must be assumed that populations of Coquerel's dwarf lemurs are on the decline.
Coquerel's dwarf lemurs were first imported to the U.S. in August, 1982, when three pairs captured on the northwest coast of Madagascar in the sub-province of Ambanja, arrived at the DLC. The pairs bred well, and by February, 1985 the colony had increased to 22 animals. By February 1989 there were 45 Coquerel's dwarf lemurs at the DLC --all descendents of the six founders! The DLC began sending out animals to other institutions in the late 1980s. By 1993 offspring of the original six could be found at 12 institutions (two in Europe). An SSP (Species Survival Plan) for the species was established in the mid 1990s.
However, by June, 2002 no successful reproduction had occurred in any captive Coquerel's dwarf lemur for the previous five years. A decision was made by the Species Survival Plan Coordinator for this species to make a last-ditch effort to initiate breeding. Based on the fact that Coquerel's dwarf lemurs in the wild have periodic contact with conspecifics, while animals in zoos never do, the decision was made to send three prime breeding pairs back to the DLC. These animals, together with two pairs already at the Lemur Center, were placed in the same large room of the Lemur Center's nocturnal building (each pair in a separate cage) in the hopes that the presence of multiple breeding pairs of the lemur in close proximity might somehow stimulate breeding. Unfortunately, of this writing (May, 2005) no breeding has occurred and the future of this species in captivity does not look promising.