Durrell's vontsira (Salanoia durrelli)[3] is a small, reddish-brown, fox-like mammal native to the island of Madagascar. Discovered in 2004, it lives only in the biodiverse wetlands of Lake Alaotra. Durrell's vontsira belongs to the family Eupleridae, a group of meat-eating, cat- or fox-like mammals (of the order Carnivora) found only on Madagascar. The species is closely related to the brown-tailed mongoose (Salanoia concolor), with which it forms the genus Salanoia. The two are genetically similar, but morphologically distinct, and S.durrelli was described as a new species in 2010.
A small, reddish-brown carnivore, Salanoia durrelli is characterized by broad feet with prominent pads, reddish-buff underparts, and broad, robust teeth, among other differences from the brown-tailed mongoose. In the only two weighed specimens, body mass was 600 and 675g (21.2 and 23.8oz). It is a marsh-dwelling animal that may feed on crustaceans and mollusks. The Lake Alaotra area is a threatened ecosystem, and S.durrelli may also be endangered by competition with introduced species.
Taxonomy
An individual Salanoia durrelli was observed swimming in 2004 by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT) during a survey of bamboo lemurs (Hapalemur) in the Lac Alaotra area, the largest wetlands of Madagascar. The animal was captured, photographed, and then released, but examination of the photograph showed that it could not be identified with any known species of Malagasy carnivoran (family Eupleridae). Therefore, two specimens were caught in 2005 by the DWCT. One was killed to facilitate additional morphological comparisons.[4] In 2010, it was formally described as Salanoia durrelli in a paper by conservationist Joanna Durbin and a team of scientists from the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance, Nature Heritage, the Natural History Museum, Conservation International, and the DWCT.[5] The specific name, durrelli, honors Gerald Durrell, a noted conservationist and the founder of the DWCT.[6] The common namevontsira is a Malagasy name for various species within Galidiinae.[7]
Previously, local villagers had already reported the presence of a small carnivoran at Alaotra, and it was speculated that the animal was the closely related brown-tailed mongoose (Salanoia concolor) of eastern Madagascar.[8]Salanoia durrelli was placed in the genus Salanoia, which previously included only the brown-tailed mongoose. S.durrelli shows substantial morphological differences from the brown-tailed mongoose, but the mitochondrial DNA of the two species is very similar.[9] The discoverers chose to recognize the Lac Alaotra population as a separate species in view of its significant morphological differentiation. The observed morphological distinctiveness might be the result of adaptations to life in the Alaotra wetlands, similar to the Alaotra bamboo lemur species, Hapalemur alaotrensis, which is also recognized as a distinct species despite being genetically close to the more widespread Hapalemur griseus.[10]
Description
The brown-tailed mongoose (Salanoia concolor), the closest relative of S.durrelli (the tail in this plate is incomplete)
Salanoia durrelli most closely resembles the brown-tailed mongoose,[4] which is a small, gracilemongoose-like carnivoran.[12] It is reddish-brown overall, paler than the brown-tailed mongoose.[13] The head and nape are speckled.[6] The underparts are reddish-buff, not brownish as in the brown-tailed mongoose.[13] Most of the tail is similar in color to the body, but the tip is yellowish-brown. The inner side of the well-furred external ear (pinna) is reddish-buff. The broad feet are naked below, with the naked skin buff on the forefeet and dark brown on the hindfeet, and show prominent pads. Each of the five digits on the fore- and hindfeet bears a long, dark brown claw. There are rows of stiff hairs along the outer margins of the feet.[6] In contrast, the brown-tailed mongoose has narrower feet with more poorly developed pads.[13] In S.durrelli, the fur is long and soft.[6]
In the holotype specimen, a female, the head and body length was 310mm (12in), the tail length was 210mm (8.3in), the hindfoot length was 66.8mm (2.63in), the ear length was 17.5mm (0.69in), and the body mass was 675g (23.8oz). In another specimen, a male which was captured and released, the head and body length was about 330mm (13in), the tail length was about 175mm (6.9in), and the body mass was 600g (21oz).[6] Based on these limited data, S.durrelli may be slightly smaller than the brown-tailed mongoose.[13]
The skull generally resembles that of the brown-tailed mongoose, but the rostrum (front part) is broad and deep, the nasal bones are broad and short, and the region of the palate is broad. The mandible (lower jaw) is robust and shows a high, steeply rising coronoid process (a projection at the back of the bone).[13] Statistical analysis of measurements of the skulls and teeth strongly separates S.durrelli from specimens of the brown-tailed mongoose.[14]
Salanoia durrelli has a more robust dentition than the brown-tailed mongoose; the teeth have larger surface areas.[13] The first and second upper incisors are smaller than the third, which is separated by a pronounced diastema (gap) from the canine tooth.[15] The canine is more robust than in the brown-tailed mongoose. The first upper premolar is small, but the second and third are larger; these two teeth are shorter and broader than in the brown-tailed mongoose.[16] The fourth premolar is large, as is the first molar.[15] The second upper molar is less than one-third the size of the first, and is more highly reduced than that of the brown-tailed mongoose, which is about two-thirds the size of the first molar.[16] The first lower incisor is smaller than the other two. The lower canine, premolars, and first molar are well-developed. The second molar is broad,[15] but smaller than in the brown-tailed mongoose.[16]
Distribution, habitat, and behavior
Salanoia durrelli has been recorded at Andreba, a marshy area at 750m (2,460ft) above sea level on the eastern coast of Lac Alaotra.[6] The nearest occurrence of the brown-tailed mongoose is about 55km (34mi) from Alaotra. The first observed specimen was swimming; it may have fled from human activity on the shore. The two others were caught on mats of floating vegetation. Thus, S.durrelli occurs in a marsh habitat—quite different from the forest-dwelling brown-tailed mongoose. S.durrelli may use its robust dentition to feed on prey with hard parts, such as crustaceans and molluscs, in addition to small vertebrates, rather than insects, which the more gracile-toothed brown-tailed mongoose eats. Indeed, the two specimens of S.durrelli were captured using traps baited with fish and meat. S.durrelli is similar in many respects to the larger mainland African marsh mongoose (Atilax paludinosa), a carnivorous wetland-dweller that also uses mats of vegetation to eat and sleep on.[17]
Conservation status
The unique habitat of Lac Alaotra is threatened by pollution, destruction of marshes for the construction of rice fields, overfishing, and introduced species such as exotic fish, plants, the black rat (Rattus rattus), and the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), another small carnivoran.[18] A bird restricted to the area, the Alaotra grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus), was declared extinct in 2010[19] and the population of the bamboo lemur fell by about 30% from 1994 to 1999.[20] As a narrowly distributed species with a small population, S.durrelli is likely to be threatened by degradation of its habitat and perhaps competition with the small Indian civet and the black rat, but its conservation status has not yet been formally assessed. The DWCT is working to conserve the Lac Alaotra area and the region has been designated as a protected area.[18]
Durbin, J.; Funk, S. M.; Hawkins, F.; Hills, D. M.; Jenkins, P. D.; Moncrieff, C. B. & Ralainasolo, F. B. (2010). "Investigations into the status of a new taxon of Salanoia (Mammalia: Carnivora: Eupleridae) from the marshes of Lac Alaotra, Madagascar". Systematics and Biodiversity. 8 (3): 341–355. Bibcode:2010SyBio...8..341D. doi:10.1080/14772001003756751. S2CID84480153.
Lemuridae is a family of strepsirrhine primates native to Madagascar and the Comoros. They are represented by the Lemuriformes in Madagascar with one of the highest concentration of the lemurs. One of five families commonly known as lemurs. These animals were once thought to be the evolutionary predecessors of monkeys and apes, but this is no longer considered correct. They are formally referred to as lemurids.
Lemurs 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 Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees and are active at night.
The Madagascar lowland forests or Madagascar humid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion found on the eastern coast of the island of Madagascar, home to a plant and animal mix that is 80 to 90% endemic, with the forests of the eastern plain being a particularly important location of this endemism. They are included in the Global 200 list of outstanding ecoregions.
The bamboo lemurs or gentle lemurs are the lemurs in genus Hapalemur. These medium-sized primates live exclusively on Madagascar.
The fossa is a slender, long-tailed, cat-like mammal that is endemic to Madagascar. It is a member of the carnivoran family Eupleridae.
Grandidier's mongoose, also known as the giant-striped mongoose or Grandidier's vontsira, is a small carnivoran that lives only in a very small area of southwestern Madagascar, in areas of spiny forest vegetation. It is pale brown or grayish coloured, with eight wide, dark stripes on its back and sides. Grandidier's mongoose is larger than the related broad-striped Malagasy mongoose, G. fasciata, and its stripes are not as wide. The species is named after Alfred Grandidier.
The eastern falanouc is a rare mongoose-like mammal in the carnivoran family Eupleridae endemic to Madagascar.
The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agriculture. They are among the world's richest and most distinctive dry forests and included in the Global 200 ecoregions by the World Wide Fund. The area is also home to distinctive limestone karst formations known as tsingy, including the World Heritage Site of Bemaraha.
Eupleridae is a family of carnivorans endemic to Madagascar and comprising 10 known living species in seven genera, commonly known as euplerids, Malagasy mongooses or Malagasy carnivorans. The best known species is the fossa, in the subfamily Euplerinae. All species of Euplerinae were formerly classified as viverrids, while all species in the subfamily Galidiinae were classified as herpestids.
The ring-tailed vontsira, locally still known as the ring-tailed mongoose, is a euplerid in the subfamily Galidiinae, a carnivoran native to Madagascar. It is the only species in the genus Galidia.
Galidiinae is a subfamily of carnivorans that is restricted to Madagascar and includes six species classified into four genera. Together with the three other species of indigenous Malagasy carnivorans, including the fossa, they are currently classified in the family Eupleridae within the suborder Feliformia. Galidiinae are the smallest of the Malagasy carnivorans, generally weighing about 600 to 900 g. They are agile, short-legged animals with long, bushy ringed tails.
Feliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats, hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Caniformia.
The Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur, also known as the Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, Alaotran bamboo lemur, Alaotran gentle lemur, Alaotra reed lemur, or locally as the bandro, is a bamboo lemur. It is endemic to the reed beds in and around Lac Alaotra, in northeast Madagascar. It is about 40 cm (16 in) long, with a similar length tail, and is a brownish-gray colour. It is the only bamboo lemur to live in and feed on papyrus reeds, and other reeds and grasses, and some authorities argue that it should be regarded as a subspecies of the eastern lesser bamboo lemur. The population of this lemur has been declining because of habitat destruction and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being "critically endangered".
Cryptoprocta spelea, also known as the giant fossa, is an extinct species of carnivore from Madagascar in the family Eupleridae which is most closely related to the mongooses and includes all Malagasy carnivorans.
The common brown lemur is a species of lemur in the family Lemuridae. It is found in Madagascar and has been introduced to Mayotte.
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. The species lives in dense rainforest in southeastern Madagascar, and can be found in Ranomafana and Andringitra National Parks. Described in 1894, it was considered either a subspecies or taxonomic synonym of the weasel sportive lemur throughout most of the 20th century. Phylogenetic studies not only support its species status, but also suggest that it is the only eastern Malagasy sportive lemur that is more closely related to western than to other eastern species.
The brown-tailed mongoose, brown-tailed vontsira, Malagasy brown-tailed mongoose, or salano is a species of mammal in the family Eupleridae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is moist lowland tropical forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Salanoia is a genus of euplerid carnivoran with two currently described species found in Madagascar. They are mongoose-like, which is reflected in the older versions of their English names, for example brown-tailed mongoose which is now called brown-tailed vontsira. The name Salanoia is derived from salano, one of the vernacular names for Salanoia concolor.
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