Creature Feature #484: Mouse Lemur

The Mouse Lemurs are the world's smallest primates, measuring around 27cm from nose to tail-tip. This tiny Madame Berthe's - with an average body length of 9.2 cm - was first discovered in 2000, in the forests of Kirindy. She forages alone for insects, fruit, and small vertebratesm, although her preferred diet is energy-rich "honeydew", a secretion produced by the larvae of the Flatida coccinea bug. During the daytime, she sleeps. Sometimes alone, in a leafy nest or tree hollow, occasionally with company. There are more males in the population than females, and she tends towards promiscuity.

Like most of Madagascar's lemurs (90%) the Madame Berhe is endangered, threatened by deforestation and also hybridising with other, closely related, Mouse Lemur species.