One of the world’s tiniest and most recently discovered primates, showing just how much Madagascar still hides within its forests. Officially described only in 2012, this species is named after GERP (Groupe d’Étude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar), the team of researchers who identified it. Found in the rainforests of eastern Madagascar, Gerp’s mouse lemur is a nocturnal, tree-dwelling primate that weighs less than a tennis ball yet carries the evolutionary history of millions of years.

Like other mouse lemurs, it has huge, round eyes that shine in the dark, perfectly adapted for its nighttime lifestyle. Its fur is a mix of reddish-brown and gray, with lighter underparts and a faint pale stripe running down its nose. The long tail, often longer than its body, is used for balance as it leaps among branches and for storing fat reserves during times of food scarcity.

Behaviorally, this lemur is a nocturnal insectivore and frugivore, feeding on insects, fruit, nectar, and small invertebrates. Its tiny size belies its agility—gerp’s mouse lemur can leap quickly between branches and squeeze into narrow spaces in search of food. By consuming fruit and nectar, it also plays a role as a pollinator and seed disperser, contributing to the health of Madagascar’s forests. During the day, it rests in tree holes or nests, usually alone but sometimes near other individuals, since mouse lemurs are generally solitary foragers.

What makes Gerp’s mouse lemur particularly remarkable is how restricted its range is. It is known only from a small patch of lowland rainforest in eastern Madagascar near the town of Mananara. This makes it highly vulnerable to deforestation, which has already claimed much of its habitat.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Madagascar

10,000

Official estimate

CR

2012