Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T13:10:09.857Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Surveys on Propithecus verreauxi deckeni, a melanistic variant, and P. v. coronatus in north-west Madagascar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

Deborah J. Curtis ,
Arsène Velo ,
Evelyne-Odette Raheliarisoa ,
Alphonse Zaramody  and
Pie Müller
Deborah J. Curtis
Affiliation:
Anthropological Institute, University Zürich-Irchel, Winterthurerstr. 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland. Tel: +41 1 635 54 28; Fax: +41 1 635 68 04; E-mail: [email protected]
Arsène Velo
Affiliation:
Département des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Mahajanga, BP 652, Mahajanga 401, Madagascar
Evelyne-Odette Raheliarisoa
Affiliation:
Département des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Mahajanga, BP 652, Mahajanga 401, Madagascar
Alphonse Zaramody
Affiliation:
Département des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Mahajanga, BP 652, Mahajanga 401, Madagascar
Pie Müller
Affiliation:
Anthropological Institute, University Zurich-Irchel, Winterthurerstr. 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Propithecus verreauxi is currently divided into three or four subspecies. Decken's sifaka, P. v. deckeni, and the crowned sifaka, P. v. coronatus, are believed to be synonymous by some authors, while others regard them as separate subspecies. The results of a survey on an isolated melanistic population of Decken's sifaka, known from museum specimens collected in Ambararatabe, as well as the results of additional surveys carried out within the ranges of P. v. deckeni and P. v. coronatus are presented. A detailed description and photographs of the melanistic variant are provided. The data are employed to argue the case for recognition of the subspecific status of the endangered P. v. coronatus. The consistency of sightings of P. v. coronatus to the east of the river Mahavavy and to the west of the river Betsiboka, and sightings of P. v. deckeni to the west of the Mahavavy indicate clear separation of the two subspecies in the lower reaches of two rivers. Clarification of the status of the enigmatic museum specimens from Ambararatabe, representing a melanisticform rather than hybridization of P. v. deckeni and P. v. coronatus, lends further support to this argument.

Type
Research Article
Information
Oryx , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , April 1998 , pp. 157 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1998

References

Anon. 1986. Carte de Madagasikara 1:500 000. FTM, Institut National de Géodésie et Cartographie, Antananarivo.Google Scholar
Buettner-Janusch, J. and Tattersall, I. 1985. An annotated catalogue of Malagasy primates (Families Lemuridae, Indriidae, Daubentoniidae, Megaladapidae, Cheirogaleidae) in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History. American Museum Novitates, 2834, 1–45.Google Scholar
Eisenberg, J.F. 1981. Techniques for the Study of Primate Population Ecology. Subcommittee on Conservation of Natural Populations, National Academy Press, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Harcourt, C. and Thornback, J. 1990. Lemurs of Madagascar and the Comoros (The IUCN Red Data Book). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.Google Scholar
Mittermeier, R.A., Konstant, W.R., Nicoll, M.E. and Langrand, O. 1992. Lemurs of Madagascar: an Action Plan for their Conservation 1993–1999. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, P. 1997. Ökologie und Ernährungsstrategie des Kronensifakas (Propithecus verreauxi coronatus). Diploma thesis, University of Zürich.Google Scholar
Nicoll, M.E. and Langrand, O. 1989. Madagascar: Revue de la Conservation et des Aires Protégées. WWF, Gland, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Petter, J.-J. 1969. Speciation in Madagascan lemurs. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 1, 77–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petter, J.-J. and Peyrieras, A. 1972. Melanization in the genus Propithecus Malagasey Lemur. Journal of Human Evolution, 1, 379–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rabemazava, M. 1990. Statut et distribution du Propithèque couronné (Propithecus verreauxi coronatus) et proposition de mesures de protection. Rapport de stage de l'Ecole pour la Formation de Spécialistes de la Faune, Garona, Cameroun.Google Scholar
Richard, A.F. 1978. Behavioral Variation, Case Study of a Malagasy Lemur. Bucknell University Press, Lewisburg.Google Scholar
Richard, A.F., Rakotomanga, P. and Schwartz, M. 1991. Demography of Propithecus verreauxi at Beza Mahfaly: sex ratio, survival and fertility, 1984–1989. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 84, 307–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tattersall, J. 1982. The Primates of Madagascar. Columbia University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Tattersall, I. 1986. Notes on the distribution and taxonomic status of some subspecies of Propithecus in Madagascar. Folia Primatologica, 46, 51–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tattersall, I. 1988. Distribution survey of the Malagasy lemurs: request for information and initial report. Primate Conservation, 9, 116–117.Google Scholar
Thalmann, U. and Rakotoarison, N. 1994. Distribution of lemurs in central western Madagascar, with a regional distribution hypothesis. Folia Primatologica, 63, 156–161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed