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Of all the mankind ’s animals living on the verge of extinction , Madagascar’slemursare teetering closest to the brink . A unexampled assessment of these primates reveals they are probably the most endangered group of vertebrates on Earth , tick out all other mammals , reptiles , amphibian , birds and bony fish for the dismal distinction .
Ninety - one percentage of the 103known lemur speciesare threaten , conservationists conclude this week at a shop of the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) Species Survival Commission in Antanarivo , Madagascar ’s cap . Twenty - three of the species are now considered " critically endangered , " 52 are " peril , " and 19 are " vulnerable " on the IUCN ’s Red List of Threatened Species , compared to 10 percentage , 21 percent and 17 percent , respectively , at the time of the previous assessment carried out in 2005 .
A black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata). In general, ruffed lemurs are found in the eastern rain forests of Madagascar, with this one having a wider range than the other ruffed-lemur species,V. rubra, according to the University of Wisconson-Madison’s National Primate Research Center.
" The resultant of our review shop this calendar week have been quite a shock as they show that Madagascar has , by far , the high-pitched proportionality of threatened species of any primate home ground region or any one state in the world . As a result , we now believe that lemur are probably the most endangered of any mathematical group of vertebrates , " pronounce the primatologist Christoph Schwitzer , fountainhead of research at Bristol Zoo Gardens in the United Kingdom and the IUCN adviser on Madagascar ’s primate , in a statement .
Along with lorises and bushbabies , lemur belong to a mathematical group called prosimian primates , defined as all primates that are neither monkeys nor apes . lemur live in the wild only on Madagascar ; their antecedent in all likelihood rafted to the island on ball of botany and tree diagram more than 60 million old age ago .
Now , scientist ascribe the speedy declension of lemur ' condition to destruction of their tropic forest home ground onMadagascar , where political turmoil has increase impoverishment and accelerate illegal logging . Hunting has also emerged as a more serious threat to the animals than in the past . As Madagascar ’s biodiversity is its main tourist attraction , the scientist note that the loss of lemur would only aggravate the economic problems that are causing their demise . [ See Photos of Madagascar ’s Quirky Lemurs ]
A few of the most spectacular species labeled " critically endangered " this hebdomad are the indris , the large of the lemurs , a practician oflife - long monogamyand a sanctified specie in Madagascar considered to be the ancient " brother " of humans ; Madame Berthe ’s mouse lemur , the earth ’s smallest primate weighing in at just 30 gm ; and the blueish - eyed black lemur , the only prelate species other than world to have blue heart . The northern sportive lemur may be rare of all , with just 18 cognise soul left .
One little opus of good news emerged during the otherwise low workshop : A previously unknown species of mouse lemur has been discovered in the Marolambo area of eastern Madagascar . Its discoverer , Peter Kappeler and his team at the German Primate Center , have yet to officially depict or name it .
