GREY MOUSE LEMUR (Microcebus murinus)

Image by kind permission of Nick Garbutt from The Mammals of Madagascar (Pica Press) www.nickgarbutt.com		This tiny lemur has a long tail, prominent ears and large eyes. Along with the other mouse lemurs they are the smallest primates in the world. Grey mouse lemurs are found in the forests on the western and southern coasts of Madagascar, where they forage, mainly on a solitary basis, for fruit, insects, flowers and young leaves. They are nocturnal and have communal sleep areas, usually holes in trees lined with leaves or spherical nests built in the dense undergrowth from dead leaves and moss, where as many as 15 individuals rest during the day. During breeding season males and females sleep together, males sleeping alone or in pairs at other times. Following a gestation period of around two months the females normally give birth to twins, who are independent of their mother within another two months. After building up their fat reserves in their tails and rear legs, females may remain in their nests, completely inactive, for months at a time during the dry season, April/May - September/October.
AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS LENGTH Head and body 10cm   Tail 14.5cm  •  WEIGHT 0.6kg

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