Sifaka lemurs

[BearCat]

How many and what zoos have got sifakas in the UK? And what species are they?

 

[Zambar]

Belfast Zoo, Port Lymnpe Wild Animal Park and Cotswold Wildlife Park all keep Verreux's Sifaka. The Latter has one male, PL has two males, and Belfast has four males and one female.

 

[BearCat]

I thought port lympne and Cotswold had crowned sifakas.

 

[James27]

No, I think daleks right. Seems to be a massive lack of females in the UK.

 

[bongorob]

All UK sifakas are crowned sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi coronatus). This is a subspecies of Verreaux's Sifaka.

 

[BearCat]

What are golden crowned sifakas?

 

[bongorob]

What are golden crowned sifakas?

They are the smallest sifaka species (Propithecus tattersalli) and were only described in 1988.

 

[devilfish]

All UK sifakas are crowned sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi coronatus). This is a subspecies of Verreaux's Sifaka.

Isn't the crowned sifaka now classified as a species in their own right (Propithecus coronatus)?

@ BearCat: The golden-crowned sifaka is a critically endangered species of sifaka (different to the crowned sifaka). There are thought to be fewer than 300 individuals left. The last captive animal died last year at the Duke Lemur Centre. It has a very small range, little of which is in protected areas. Following recent political instability in Madagascar, military activity in their home range as well as desperate hunting for bushmeat leaves this fantastic species facing an extremely uncertain future.

 

[bongorob]

Isn't the crowned sifaka now classified as a species in their own right (Propithecus coronatus)?

I don't know, it may well be. I've also seen it listed as a subspecies of P.diadema.

 

[Bele]

Port Lympne did receive a pair of sifakas from Paris last year but unfortunately the female died not long after arrival .

 

[BearCat]

The female died of an intestinal problem.

 

[Tim May]

Isn't the crowned sifaka now classified as a species in their own right (Propithecus coronatus)?


In his book “Primate Taxonomy” (2001), Colin Groves lists coronatus as a sub-species of Van der Decken’s sifaka Propithecus deckenii coronatus.

 

[Chlidonias]

coronatus has been considered a subspecies both of verreauxi and later deckenii -- which itself was formerly considered a subspecies of verreauxi!! In 2002 it was first suggested that coronatus deserved species status, a thought more recently (2007) supported by craniometric studies which found it to have highly distinctive cranial features.

The trend in taxonomy nowadays of course is towards rampant splitting of pretty much any taxa you can think of

 

[devilfish]

I've also seen it listed as a subspecies of P.diadema.

In his book “Primate Taxonomy” (2001), Colin Groves lists coronatus as a sub-species of Van der Decken’s sifaka Propithecus deckenii coronatus.

coronatus has been considered a subspecies both of verreauxi and later deckenii...

Thanks for the clarification

 

[bongorob]

Taxonomists make life so interesting.

 

[jwer]

Taxonomists make life so interesting.

The real fun started when they included gene-studies