Avahi peyrierasi Zaramody et al. 2006
Creators: name: Russell A. Mittermeier
name: Anthony B. Rylands
name: Don E. Wilson
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Indriidae
Avahi

description: 3.
Peyrieras’s Woolly Lemur
Avahi peyrierasi
French: Avahi de Peyrieras / German: Ranomafana-Wollmaki / Spanish: Lémur lanudo de Peyrieras
Taxonomy. Avahi peyrierasi Zaramody et al., 2006,
Madagascar 47° 26’ E, 21° 16’ S), Fianarantsoa Province.
Based on molecular sequence data, three “types” of A. peyrierasi were detected in 2007 and 2008. Their relationships or possible species status remains to be determined. Monotypic.
Distribution. SE Madagascar, currently known from S of the Mangoro/Nesivolo river systems in the forests of Manara, Vatoalatsaka, Sangalampona, Mahasoarivo, and Ranomatana; the S extent of the distribution remains unclear. The precise distributional limits of Peyrieras’s Woolly Lemur and in particular its relationship to the Southern Woolly Lemur (A. meridionalis) and the Manombo Woolly Lemur (A. ramanantsoavanai) in the S are undetermined.
Descriptive notes. Head—body 26-317 cm, tail 28.5-34.4 cm; weight 1.1-1 kg. Peyrieras’s Woolly Lemuris similar to the Eastern Woolly Lemur (A. laniger), butit is slightly smaller. The dorsal fur is gray-brown, with either a gray or a white underside and a redbrown tail. Outsides of the thighs are gray-brown, and insides of the thighs are white. There are small white bandsvisible along interior parts of the legs and, in some cases, along the upper parts. In some individuals, the face is completely encircled by a white border of fur, and white beards and cheeks are also present.
Habitat. Primary tropical moist lowland, montane, secondary, and disturbed forest. Peyrieras’s Woolly Lemur seems to prefer intact primary forest with tall trees and high understory visibility.
Food and Feeding. Peyrieras’s Woolly Lemur eats mainly leaves, along with some flowers and fruits. At Ranomafana, the most frequent eaten leaves are from Harungana madagascariensis (Hypericaceae). They eat flowers of Erythroxylum (Erythroxylaceae) and fruits of Rheedia (Clusiaceae).
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
Activity patterns. Peyrieras’s Woolly Lemur is nocturnal and arboreal. One study at Ranomafana showed that they rested for nearly 60% of the night, fed for 22%, traveled for 13%, and groomed for 5%.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Recent surveys of Peyrieras’s Woolly Lemur indicated that densities at Ranomafana were twice as high in lightly disturbed primary forest than in heavily logged forest (40 ind/km? vs. 19 ind/km?).
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. However, at the IUCN/SSC Lemur Red-Listing Workshop held in July 2012, A. peynierasi was assessed as vulnerable. It is threatened by habitat destruction and possibly by hunting, although the taste of its meat is not widely appreciated. Peyrieras’s Woolly Lemur occurs in the national parks of Andringitra, Midongy du Sud, and Ranomafana.
Bibliography. Andriantompohavana et al. (2007), Ganzhorn (1988), Harcourt (1991), Herrera, Wright et al. (2011), Lei et al. (2008), Markolf et al. (2011), Mittermeier et al. (2010), Rumpler et al. (2011), Zaramody et al. (2006).
description: Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier, Anthony B. Rylands & Don E. Wilson, 2013, Indriidae, pp. 142-175 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 3 Primates, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 165, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6709103