Endangered
Small-toothed sportive lemur
Lepilemur microdon
The small-toothed sportive lemur, or small-toothed weasel lemur, is a primate species in the family Lepilemuridae that—like all extant lemurs—is endemic to Madagascar.
Appearance
The species is nearly identical in coloration to the weasel sportive lemur and it is almost impossible to separate the two in the field, except on the basis of geography. Its pelage (fur) is thick and reddish-brown, while its underside and neck are pale gray-brown, and sometimes have a yellowish or yellowish-gray hue. The shoulders and forelimbs have a bright chestnut color.
Compared to other sportive lemurs, the small-toothed sportive lemur is relatively large, weighing between 0.9 and 1.2 kg (2.0 and 2.6 lb) and measuring 55 to 64 cm (22 to 25 in) from head to tail.
Described in 1894, it was considered either a subspecies or taxonomic synonym of the weasel sportive lemur (Lepilemur mustelinus) throughout most of the 20th century.
Range and habitat
The small-toothed sportive lemur is found in inland southeastern Madagascar, ranging from Ranomafana National Park southwest to Andringitra National Park. The Namorona River acts as the northern border of its range, and the Manampatrana River may act as a southern border, where the species seems to be replaced by the James' sportive lemur. Further studies are needed to clarify its range and relationship with other sportive lemurs in southeastern Madagascar.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet
Like all sportive lemurs, the small-toothed sportive lemur is nocturnal, sleeping in tree cavities or hidden tangles of vines and leaves during the day. The species is considered solitary, and like other rainforest-dwelling sportive lemurs, they vocalize significantly less than sportive lemurs that live in drier forests.
Other similarities with the rest of the sportive lemur species include its diet of leaves, fruits, and flowers, its low resting metabolic rate, and its low activity rate. In general, predators of sportive lemurs include diurnal birds of prey and carnivores, such as the fossa.
In crisis
Due to recent taxonomic changes and a lack of clarity about its population size and range, it was listed as "data deficient" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2008. This was changed to "endangered" in 2014, on the basis of a small, fragmented and shrinking range, as well as a declining population. Its primary threats are habitat loss to slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting.
The IUCN originally listed the species as "Lower Risk", first in 1996 under the sub-classification "least concern", and then in 2000 under the sub-classification "near threatened". During its 2008 assessment, its population size, geographic range, and other factors were unclear, resulting in the classification "Data Deficient".
CITES lists this taxon on Appendix I. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.
Small-toothed sportive lemur is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Small-toothed sportive lemur, Wikidata item Q201387. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
