This is a list of the native wild mammal species recorded in Madagascar. As of June 2014 (following the IUCN reassessment of the lemurs) there are 241 extant mammal species recognized in Madagascar, of which 22 are critically endangered, 62 are endangered, 32 are vulnerable, 9 are near threatened, 72 are of least concern and 44 are either data deficient or not evaluated. All of the critically endangered species are lemurs.
The mammalian fauna of Madagascar is highly distinctive and largely endemic. The extant nonmarine, nonchiropteran taxa constitute (as of June 2014) 168 species, 40 genera and 9 families; of these, besides a probably introduced shrew, endemic taxa make up all the species, all the genera, and all but one of the families. This endemic terrestrial fauna, consisting of lemurs, tenrecs, nesomyine rodents and euplerid carnivorans, is thought to have colonized the island from Africa via four (or five, if aye-ayes arrived separately) rafting events. The other historic terrestrial or semiterrestrial mammal group, the extinct hippopotamuses, is thought to have colonized the island possibly several times, perhaps via swimming.
Earlier in the Holocene, Madagascar had a number of megafaunal mammals: giant lemurs such as Archaeoindris which at over 200 kg was comparable in mass to the largest gorillas, as well as the hippopotamuses. The island also hosted flightless elephant birds weighing up to 700 kg, the largest known birds of all time. All of these went extinct following the first appearance of humans about 2000 years ago. Today, the largest surviving native mammals of the island, such as the indri and fossa, have weights only approaching 10 kg. Most if not all of the 29 listed extinct species are believed to have died out in prehistoric times; none of these are known to have survived into the post-European contact period.
The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature; those on the left are used here, those in the second column in some other articles:
Extinct No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. Extinct in the wild Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized population well outside its historic range. Critically endangered The species is in imminent danger of extinction in the wild. Endangered The species is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. Vulnerable The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. Near threatened The species does not qualify as being at high risk of extinction but is likely to do so in the future. Least concern The species is not currently at risk of extinction in the wild. Data deficient There is inadequate information to assess the risk of extinction for this species. Not evaluated The conservation status of the species has not been studied.
Order: Afrosoricida (tenrecs, otter shrews and golden moles)
The afrotherian order Afrosoricida contains the golden moles and otter shrews of sub-Saharan Africa and the tenrecs of Madagascar, families of small mammals that were traditionally part of the order Insectivora. All native tenrecs of Madagascar are believed to descend from a common ancestor that lived 29–37 million years (Ma) ago after rafting from Africa, with the split from their closest relatives, the otter shrews of equatorial Africa, dated to about 47–53 Ma ago.
Afrosoricida also contains the enigmatic extinct genus Plesiorycteropus, represented by two extinct species of dog-sized, probably insectivorous mammals restricted to Madagascar. Morphological analyses have tended to place them within Afrotheria close to aardvarks (order Tubulidentata), perhaps due to convergent specializations for digging. Analysis of preserved collagen sequences, however, places them in Afrosoricida closest to (and possibly within) tenrecs. The two species differ in size and aspects of morphology. They survived until as recently as 2150 BP.
Family: Tenrecidae (tenrecs) Subfamily: Geogalinae Genus: Geogale Large-eared tenrec, G. aurita Subfamily: Oryzorictinae Genus: Microgale Short-tailed shrew tenrec, Microgale brevicaudata Cowan's shrew tenrec, Microgale cowani Drouhard's shrew tenrec, Microgale drouhardi Dryad shrew tenrec, Microgale dryas Pale shrew tenrec, Microgale fotsifotsy Gracile shrew tenrec, Microgale gracilis Grandidier's shrew tenrec, Microgale grandidieri Naked-nosed shrew tenrec, Microgale gymnorhyncha Jenkins's shrew tenrec, Microgale jenkinsae Northern shrew tenrec, Microgale jobihely Lesser long-tailed shrew tenrec, Microgale longicaudata Major's long-tailed tenrec, (Microgale majori) Web-footed tenrec, Microgale mergulus Montane shrew tenrec, Microgale monticola Nasolo's shrew tenrec, Microgale nasoloi Pygmy shrew tenrec, Microgale parvula Greater long-tailed shrew tenrec, Microgale principula Least shrew tenrec, Microgale pusilla Shrew-toothed shrew tenrec, Microgale soricoides Taiva shrew tenrec, Microgale taiva Thomas's shrew tenrec, Microgale thomasi Genus: Nesogale Dobson's shrew tenrec, Nesogale dobsoni Talazac's shrew tenrec, Nesogale talazaci Genus: Oryzorictes Mole-like rice tenrec, Oryzorictes hova Four-toed rice tenrec, Oryzorictes teradactylus Subfamily: Tenrecinae Genus: Echinops Lesser hedgehog tenrec, Echinops telfairi Genus: Hemicentetes Highland streaked tenrec, Hemicentetes nigriceps Lowland streaked tenrec, Hemicentetes semispinosus Genus: Setifer Greater hedgehog tenrec, Setifer setosus Genus: Tenrec Tailless tenrec, Tenrec ecaudatus
Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)
Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered. The dugong ranges widely along coastlines from east Africa to Australasia. It and the tenrecs are Madagascar's only extant afrotherians.
Family: Dugongidae Genus: Dugong Dugong, D. dugon
Order: Primates
The order Primates contains all the species commonly related to the lemurs, monkeys, and apes, with the latter category including humans. It is divided into four main groupings: strepsirrhines, tarsiers, monkeys of the New World, and monkeys and apes of the Old World. Strepsirrhines make up all of Madagascar's native primates species, but comprise only a quarter of those of Africa, the rest being simians. Madagascar's strepsirrhines occupy both diurnal and nocturnal niches, while all those of Asia and mainland Africa are nocturnal and nearly all simians are diurnal (the only exception being neotropical Aotus, which lives where strepsirrhines are absent).Cawthon Lang KA. 2005 July 18. Primate Factsheets: Owl monkey (Aotus) Taxonomy, Morphology, & Ecology. Accessed 2015 March 26. Madagascar's 15 genera of extant nonhuman primates compares with 6 in Central America, 20 in South America, 23 in Africa and 19 in Asia. A number of lemur species larger than any now alive, ranging in size up to that of a gorilla, are believed to have become extinct shortly after the recent arrival of humans.
The endemic primates of Madagascar, the lemurs, constitute a single clade and are the largest branch of strepsirrhines. It has been proposed that a common ancestor of all Madagascar's lemurs rafted across the Mozambique Channel from Africa between 50 and 60 million years ago. However, findings of similarities in dentition between several African primate fossils and aye-ayes, the most basal of lemurs, have led to the alternate proposal that the ancestors of aye-ayes colonized Madagascar separately from other lemurs.
Between 2000 and 2008, 39 new lemur species were described, bringing the total number of recognized species and subspecies to 99; by 2014, the number of extant species and subspecies recognized had increased to 105. Of these, the IUCN classified 24 as critically endangered, 49 as endangered, 20 as vulnerable, three as near threatened, three as of least concern and four as data deficient; two were yet to be evaluated.
Suborder: Strepsirrhini Infraorder: Lemuriformes Family: Cheirogaleidae Genus: Allocebus Hairy-eared dwarf lemur, Allocebus trichotis Genus: Cheirogaleus Montagne d'Ambre dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus andysabini Furry-eared dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus crossleyi Groves' dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus grovesi Lavasoa dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus lavasoensis Greater dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus major Fat-tailed dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus medius Lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus minusculus NE Ankarana dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus shethi Sibree's dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus sibreei Genus: Microcebus Arnhold's mouse lemur, Microcebus arnholdi Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, Microcebus berthae Bongolava mouse lemur, Microcebus bongolavensis Boraha mouse lemur, Microcebus boraha Danfoss' mouse lemur, Microcebus danfossi Ganzhorn's mouse lemur, Microcebus ganzhorni Gerp's mouse lemur, Microcebus gerpi Reddish-gray mouse lemur, Microcebus griseorufus Jolly's mouse lemur, Microcebus jollyae Goodman's mouse lemur, Microcebus lehilahytsara MacArthur's mouse lemur, Microcebus macarthurii Claire's mouse lemur, Microcebus mamiratra Manitatra mouse lemur, Microcebus manitatra Margot Marsh's mouse lemur, Microcebus margotmarshae Marohita mouse lemur, Microcebus marohita Mittermeier's mouse lemur, Microcebus mittermeieri Gray mouse lemur, Microcebus murinus NE Pygmy mouse lemur, Microcebus myoxinus Golden-brown mouse lemur, Microcebus ravelobensis Brown mouse lemur, Microcebus rufus Sambirano mouse lemur, Microcebus sambiranensis Simmons' mouse lemur, Microcebus simmonsi NE Anosy mouse lemur, Microcebus tanosi Northern rufous mouse lemur, Microcebus tavaratra Genus: Mirza Coquerel's giant mouse lemur, Mirza coquereli Northern giant mouse lemur, Mirza zaza Genus: Phaner Amber Mountain fork-marked lemur, Phaner electromontis Masoala fork-marked lemur, Phaner furcifer Pale fork-marked lemur, Phaner pallescens Pariente's fork-marked lemur, Phaner parienti Family: Daubentoniidae Genus: Daubentonia Aye-aye, Daubentonia madagascariensis Family: Indriidae Genus: Avahi Betsileo woolly lemur, Avahi betsileo Bemaraha woolly lemur, Avahi cleesei Eastern woolly lemur, Avahi laniger Southern woolly lemur, Avahi meridionalis Moore's woolly lemur, Avahi mooreorum Western woolly lemur, Avahi occidentalis Peyrieras's woolly lemur, Avahi peyrierasi Ramanantsoavana's woolly lemur, Avahi ramanantsoavanai VU Sambirano woolly lemur, Avahi unicolor Genus: Indri Indri, Indri indri Genus: Propithecus Silky sifaka, Propithecus candidus Coquerel's sifaka, Propithecus coquereli Crowned sifaka, Propithecus coronatus Von der Decken's sifaka, Propithecus deckenii Diademed sifaka, Propithecus diadema Milne-Edwards's sifaka, Propithecus edwardsi Perrier's sifaka, Propithecus perrieri Golden-crowned sifaka, Propithecus tattersalli Verreaux's sifaka, Propithecus verreauxi Family: Lemuridae (large lemurs) Genus: Eulemur White-headed lemur, Eulemur albifrons Gray-headed lemur, Eulemur cinereiceps Collared brown lemur, Eulemur collaris Crowned lemur, Eulemur coronatus Blue-eyed black lemur, Eulemur flavifrons Common brown lemur, Eulemur fulvus Black lemur, Eulemur macaco Mongoose lemur, Eulemur mongoz Red-bellied lemur, Eulemur rubriventer Red-fronted lemur, Eulemur rufifrons Red lemur, Eulemur rufus Sanford's brown lemur, Eulemur sanfordi Genus: Hapalemur Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur, Hapalemur alaotrensis Golden bamboo lemur, Hapalemur aureus Eastern lesser bamboo lemur, Hapalemur griseus Beanamalao bamboo lemur, Hapalemur griseus gilberti Eastern lesser bamboo lemur, Hapalemur griseus griseus Ranomafana bamboo lemur, Hapalemur griseus ranomafanensis Southern lesser bamboo lemur, Hapalemur meridionalis Western lesser bamboo lemur, Hapalemur occidentalis