A new population of wrinkly-faced, bamboo-eating lemurs has been found in a swampy region of east-central Madagascarmore than 240 miles (400 kilometers) from the other only known group of the primates, listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union, conservationists announced today.

The 2007 finding comes after years of rumors that the so-called greater bamboo lemur had been sighted in the Torotorofotsy wetlands. Now that it's confirmed, the newfound group has renewed experts' hopes that the species will survive.

"Finding the extremely rare Prolemur simus in a place where nobody expected it was probably more exciting than discovering a new lemur species," conservation geneticist Edward Louis of Henry Doorly Zoo said in a statement.

 

Source: HERE





-- Edited by Dj_Rubbut at 14:07, 2008-08-09