Phaner parienti Groves and Tattersall, 1991

Phaner parienti is darker than Phaner pallescens to the south and Phaner electromontis to the north. The dorsal coat is dark brown, while the ventral coat is buffy and often tinted with red. The crown fork is broad, black, well defined, and continuous with the dorsal midline stripe that extends to the base of the tail. The distal third of the tail is also dark, but sometimes tipped with white (Groves, 2001). There are no published weights or measurements available for this species, but three animals (one male and two females) from Antafondro measured by E. E. Louis Jr. (unpubl.) averaged 23.8 ±0.9 cm in head- body length; 40.1 ±1.8 cm in tail length, and 360 ±50 g in weight. As with all Phaner, location is the best indicator as to which species is being seen in the wild.
The Sambirano fork-marked lemur is sympatric with several other nocturnal lemurs, including Microcebus, Cheirogaleus, and Lepilemur. However, it can readily be distinguished from Microcebus by its size, and from all others by its rapid movements, the forked pattern on the crown, the very loud and distinctive vocalizations, and the unusual head-bobbing movements, which are readily visible in the beam of a flashlight.