Celebrating International Biodiversity Day!! The United Nations has proclaimed today (22nd of May) the international day of biodiversity. The theme for this year is celebrating island biodiversity. And yes we know Africa is too big to be classed as an island. In keeping with the theme we thought we would celebrate the unique mammals of some of the islands off the coast of Africa. The African islands are divided into two groups the Atlantic Ocean group and the Indian Ocean group. These islands are all classified as small islands (less than 2000 square miles) and are volcanic in origin; with the exception of Madagascar (4th largest island in the world) that was separated from the supercontinent of Gondwana some 135 million years ago. The Atlantic Ocean group of islands consists of Sao Tome and Principe and the Cape Verde. The island of Sao Tome and Principe is home to the aptly named Sao Tome shrew (Crocidura thomensis), a species native to the island. Not so good news is that we know very little about this species. What we do know is that these shrews are very rare (only known from 10 locations), covered in brown fur, have a long pink tail and rather long hind legs. They are classified as endangered by the IUCN with biggest threats being deforestation and increased competition for resources due to the presence of introduced species. The Indian Ocean group are the island nations of the Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, Zanzibar, Lamu and Madagascar. The world’s largest and rarest fruit bat (Pteropus livingstonii) or Livingston’s fruit bat is endemic to the island of the Comoros. They are identified by their black fur with smaller patches of gold on the belly and flanks and their orange or red eyes. These bats can weigh up to 680g and be up to 30cm in height with a whopping wingspan of nearly 1.4m! The species is classified as critically endangered as it is believed that only ±2000 individuals are still alive. The species has received intensive conservation efforts and is part of a breeding program to ensure the future of this iconic species (see durrell.org/animals/mammals/livingstones-fruit-bat/). The most famous of the Indian Ocean group is probably the island of Madagascar. Nearly 90% of all the plants and animals are endemic to the island. The Lemuroidea or more commonly the lemurs are endemic to the island. This superfamily consists of at least 100 species in 8 families. It is believed that lemurs evolved separately from other apes and monkeys due to the islands long separation from another large land mass. The largest lemur (Indri indri) can be up to 90cm tall and weigh up to 12kg, it has a very small tail (considered tailless) and it wail/scream can be heard up to 3km away. The smallest lemur (Microcebus berthae) or Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur is only 92mm in length and weighs up to 30g and is known as the smallest primate in the world (see: video.nationalgeographic/video/lemur_mouse). Sadly, the IUCN classifies lemurs as the most endangered mammals on the planet, with most of the species facing extinction in the next 20 -25 years. These are just some of the very unique species found on the islands off the coast of Africa, but the moral of the story remains conservation. So get out there and get involved… Happy World Biodiversity Day! Happy Mammal mapping! From the Convention on Biodiversity: cbd.int/idb/ https://youtube/watch?v=IvsR88F2xlg&feature=youtu.be References: Dutton, J., & Haft, J. (1996). Distribution, ecology and status of an endemic shrew, Crocidura thomensis, from Sao Tomé. Oryx, 30(03), 195-201. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Tom%C3%A9_Shrew Granek, E. (2002). Conservation of< i> Pteropus livingstonii based on roost site habitat characteristics on Anjouan and Moheli, Comoros islands. Biological conservation, 108(1), 93-100. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pteropus_livingstonii#cite_note-Granek.2C_2000-8 Andrainarivo, C., Andriaholinirina, V.N., Feistner, A., Felix, T., Ganzhorn, J., Garbutt, N., Golden, C., Konstant, B., Louis Jr., E., Meyers, D., Mittermeier, R.A., Perieras, A., Princee, F., Rabarivola, J.C., Rakotosamimanana, B., Rasamimanana, H., Ratsimbazafy, J., Raveloarinoro, G., Razafimanantsoa, A., Rumpler, Y., Schwitzer, C., Thalmann, U., Wilmé, L. & Wright, P. 2008. Indri indri. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. . Downloaded on 22 May 2014. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madagascar#Ecology en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Berthes_mouse_lemur Andrainarivo, C., Andriaholinirina, V.N., Feistner, A., Felix, T., Ganzhorn, J., Garbutt, N., Golden, C., Konstant, B., Louis Jr., E., Meyers, D., Mittermeier, R.A., Perieras, A., Princee, F., Rabarivola, J.C., Rakotosamimanana, B., Rasamimanana, H., Ratsimbazafy, J., Raveloarinoro, G., Razafimanantsoa, A., Rumpler, Y., Schwitzer, C., Thalmann, U., Wilmé, L. & Wright, P. 2008. Microcebus berthae. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. . Downloaded on 22 May 2014. Photo credit: Ztona.org (Indri) Jeff Goodman (Livingston’s Fruit Bat) Gerald Cubitt (Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur) Ricarod Lima (Sao Tome Shrew) Convention on Biodiversity (Poster)
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 07:51:42 +0000
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