Cheirogaleus major major
Greater Dwarf Lemur

Cheirogaleus major in the lower canopy at night
early wet season^P1

Identification

Cheirogaleus major is nocturnal, it is larger than Microcebus rufus, and smaller than Avahi. Its fur is grey or reddish brown, there are dark circles around the eyes. At the end of the wet season the tail will become somewhat swollen.

You are unlikely to see it in the dry (cold) season, but it should be visible between December and April.

Cheirogaleus major at RNP

There are many C. m. m. at RNP, but being exclusively nocturnal, and only being active for part of the year they can be hard to find. Don't even bother looking for them in the dry season, I have seen them by searching for eye-shine along X and XA trails around 20:00 at night.

Physical Characteristics

Life History

C. major major mates between November and February with a 70 day gestation period (Rowe 1996)). Weaning occurs at 70 days later (at approximately the time of greatest food availability, late February, Wright 1999). Young infants are carried in the mother's mouth, and by three weeks they are following the mother.

Locomotion

Locomotion is quadrupedal.

Diet & Feeding

They eat fruit, young leaves, flowers, and insects.

Comparison to sympatric Microcebus rufus

These two species are both nocturnal small-bodied Cheirogaleidae, both with high fruit, insect diets, both competing for Bakerella spp. fruits. On the other hand C. major appears to eat fruits that are higher in tannins or containing alkaloids than did M. rufus. (Atsalis 1998).

Activity Pattern

Strictly nocturnal. They hibernate from April to September.

Predators

Galidia elegans

Has been observed to prey upon Cheirogaleus major. (Goodman et al, 1993)

Buteo brachypterus

Has been observed to prey upon Cheirogaleus major. Presumably other raptors or owls might. (Goodman et al, 1993)

The fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)

This animal believed to prey upon Cheirogaleus major, it certainly preys on other lemurs in the park. (Wright, 1997)

Man, dogs, and cats

Behavior

Social structure

Small groups sleep and forage together.

Dominance

Vocalizations

• Contact call^S1
  • 

Scent Marks

C. major major does fecal marking.

Geographic Range

Cheirogaleus major major is widely distributed over the primary and secondary forests near the eastern coast. There is perhaps another subspecies (or perhaps it is a species in its own right)- C. m. crossleyi.

Taxonomy

Mammalia -> Primata (Strepsirrhini, Lemuriformes) -> Cheirogaleidae -> Cheirogaleus major

Atsalis, SA, 1998, "Feeding Ecology and aspects of Life History in Microcebus rufus (Family Cheirogaleidae)", Ph. D. dissertation, City University of New York.

Charles-Dominique, P., et al, 1980, Nocturnal Malagasy Primates, Academic Press.

Goodman, SM, O'Conner S, Langrand O, 1993 "A review of predation on lemurs: Implications for the evolution of social behavior in small, nocturnal primates", Lemur Social Systems and their Ecological Basis, 51-66

Kappeler, PM, 1991, "Patterns of sexual dimorphism in body weight among prosimian primates", Folia Primatologica, 57:132-146

Mittermeier, Russell et al, 1994, The Lemurs of Madagascar, Conservation International

Rowe, Noel, 1996, The Pictorial Guide to the Living Primates, Pogonias Press

Wright, P. C., et al 1997, "Predation on Milne Edwards Sifaka (Propithecus diadema edwardsi) by the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) in the rainforest of southeastern Madagascar", Folia Primatologica 68(1) 34-43.

Wright, P.C. 1999 "Lemur traits and Madagascar ecology: coping with an island environment." Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 42: 31-72.

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C. major near Maransoatra^P2