Moonlight serenades - lemur style

Humans might think that finding the perfect partner is hard but at least when we do, even in the dim light of a bar, we can usually be sure we have the right species. Lemur love is not so simple – some species of Malagasy mouse lemurs are so similar in appearance that they have developed vocal strategies to pick up the right partner.

Lemurs need to make themselves heard if they want a partner from the right species

Only after genetic testing was it revealed that the group of rainforest lemurs were three separate species – grey, golden brown, and Goodman’s mouse lemurs. And it is not just animal experts that have had trouble separating the different species; the lemurs themselves have resorted to vocalising their love to ensure they get the right partner.

Researchers from the Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine at Hannover University recorded the mating calls of all the male lemurs and played them back to the grey mouse lemurs and observed their response. “Grey mouse lemurs reacted more to calls from other grey mouse lemurs than to those of either other species”, say the researchers. They also found that they grey mouse lemurs ignored the calls of the golden brown mouse lemurs, which live in the same area, but responded more to the calls of the Goodman’s mouse lemurs, which they would not normally meet in the wild.

The lemurs’ serenades are essential to their survival – by increasing the probability of finding the right mate means that they don’t waste time mating with partners that would produce no offspring or infertile hybrids.

By Leila Sattary