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Microcebus griseorufus Kollman, 1910

Scientific name: 
Scientist name: 
Kollman, 1910
Malagasy: 
Pondiky, Tsidy
English: 
Gray-brown Mouse Lemur
German: 
Graubrauner Mausmaki
Other english: 
Reddish-gray Mouse Lemur, Rufous-gray Mouse Lemur
French: 
Microcèbe gris-roux
Taxa: 

Species

Identification

Microcebus griseorufus is a large mouse lemur, with a head-body length of 12–13 cm, a tail length of 14–15 cm, a total length of 26–28 cm, and a body weight of 46–79 g (Rasoloarison et al., 2000). The dorsal coat is light gray, split by a cinnamon midline stripe that runs from either the crown or the shoulders to the end of the tail, which is largely cinnamon above and beige beneath. The anterior portion of the ventral coat is light grayish- white, the posterior portion tending more toward gray.
An inhabitant of the spiny forest of southern Madagascar, this species is sympatric in some areas with M. murinus, from which it can readily be distinguished by its more prominent, darker mid-dorsal stripe (Rasoloarison et al., 2000; Goodman et al., 2002; Yoder et al., 2002; Ganzhorn and Randriamanalina, 2004). It is often in the same forests with two other nocturnal genera, Cheirogaleus and Lepilemur, as well, and can easily be distinguished from both of these by its much smaller size and more rapid movements.