The white-footed sportive lemur, white-footed weasel lemur, or dry-bush weasel lemur (''Lepilemur leucopus'') is a species of

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagas ...

in the family

Lepilemuridae The sportive lemurs are the medium-sized primates that make up the family Lepilemuridae. The family consists of only one extant genus, ''Lepilemur''. They are closely related to the other lemurs and exclusively live on the island of Madagascar. ...

, the sportive lemurs. It is similar in appearance to other lemurs in the family, with a grey back, a pale grey to white ventral side, and a light brown tail. It is a nocturnal animal that moves through the forest using a vertical clinging and leaping technique. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, inhabiting the southern subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

due to agriculture practices and charcoal production.

Behaviour

Diet

This sportive lemur eats mainly leaves. During the dry season around

Berenty Berenty is a town and commune ( mg, kaominina) in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Ankazoabo, which is a part of Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 1,000 in 2001 commune census. Pri ...

, it may depend entirely on the leaves and flowers of ''

Alluaudia ''Alluaudia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Didiereaceae. There are six species, all endemic to Madagascar. Most occur in the southwestern subarid forest-thicket vegetation of the island. Species of ''Alluaudia'' are dioecious, ...

'' species. This lemur is

coprophagous Coprophagia () or coprophagy () is the consumption of feces. The word is derived from the grc, κόπρος , "feces" and , "to eat". Coprophagy refers to many kinds of feces-eating, including eating feces of other species (heterospecifics), of ...

, consuming and redigesting its feces to further breakdown of the

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell w ...

contained in it.

Social systems

The basic social unit of this species is a mother and her offspring. Males live in solidarity and have territories that will overlap those of one or more females. Males may meet with females during the night for foraging and social grooming. The species is polygynous, with the male visiting several females to mate.Fleagle, J. G. ''Primate Adaptation and Evolution''. Academic Press. 1988. The male defends his territory by monitoring it and vocalizing loudly when another male approaches.Hladik, C. M. and P. Charles-Dominique. The Behavior and Ecology of the Sportive Lemur (''Lepilemur mustelinus'') in Relation to its Dietary Peculiarities. In: Martin, R. D., et al. (eds.) ''Prosimian Biology''. Duckworth, London. 1974. The male may engage in physical combat to defend his territory.

Ecology

This species of lemur can be found in the southern

Madagascar spiny thickets The Madagascar spiny forests (also known as the Madagascar spiny thickets) is an ecoregion in the southwest of Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. The ecoregion contains an outstanding pr ...

, which are dominated by spiny plants in the family

Didiereaceae Didiereaceae is a family of flowering plants found in continental Africa and Madagascar. It contains 20 species classified in three subfamilies and six genera. Species of the family are succulent plants, growing in sub-arid to arid habitats. Seve ...

, and

gallery forest A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

s. Its range was thought to be limited to the territory between the Menarandra and Mandrare Rivers, but due to recent changes in taxonomic classification in genus ''Lepilemur'', its exact range and distribution is unclear. The Berenty Private Reserve in southern Madagascar has estimated this species to have a density of several hundreds of individuals per square kilometer. Because its range is unclear, of the uncertainty regarding this lemur's habitat range, its

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

(IUCN)

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...

is listed as Data Deficient. If it is in fact limited to the region between the two rivers, it may be relisted as a threatened species.

Threats and conservation action

The use of this species's habitat as pasture for livestock has become a threat to its survival. The forests and shrubland of this region are annually burned to create new pasture for agriculture purposes, which is then overgrazed. This area is also subject to forest clearing to accommodate charcoal production. Populations are protected in

Andohahela National Park Andohahela National Park, in south-east Madagascar, is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy Highlands and contains the last hum ...

and the Berenty Private Reserve.

References

External links

A short video of Lepilemur leucopus
{{Taxonbar, from=Q747834 Sportive lemurs Mammals described in 1894 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major