New Head-Bobbing Lemur Discovered in Madagascar

This newly discovered species of fork-marked lemur bobs its head while up in the trees in Madagascar. (Image credit: © Conservation International/Russell A. Mittermeier.)

A new long-tongued, squirrel-sized species of lemur has been discovered in Madagascar, researchers report today (Dec. 13).

The new creature doesn't have a species name yet, but is of the genus Phaner, otherwise known as fork-marked lemurs. These lemurs get their name from a black, Y-shaped line that starts above each eye and joins at the top of the head. The long-tongued species has a unique head-bobbing move that showed up in the flashlight beam as discoverers searched the treetops for a glimpse of the animal. [

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