A NEW SPECIES OF MICROGALE 



Table 1 Dimensions of adult Microgale fotsifotsy presented as range, mean ± standard deviation and number of specimens in parentheses. 





Combined 



PN Montagne d' Ambre 



RNI Zahamena 



RNI d'Andringitra 



Marosohy forest 







650-1 150m 



850-1 180m 



1200- 1400m 



650m 



Head and body length 



63.9-81.0 



63.9-70.0 



66.7-69.2 



70.1-81.0 



64,77 





69.0±5.11 



66.2±2.17 



68.2±1.02 



76.7±5.8 







(17) 



(8) 



(4) 



(3) 



(2) 



Tail length 



7 1 .4-94.0 



71.4-82.7 



75.0-84.0 



85-94 



71,79 





79.8±6.16 



77.3+4.31 



79.5+3.21 



89.3±4.51 







(16) 



(7) 



(4) 



(3) 



(2) 



Hind foot length 



14-18 



14-16 



16-17 



15-18 



15, 16 





15.7±1.03 



15+0.71 



16.5±0.50 



16.3+1.25 







(17) 



(8) 



(4) 



(3) 



(2) 



Ear length 



11-16 



11-15 



15-16 



16-17 



12, 16 





14.1 ±2.03 



12.6+1.22 



15.7±0.47 



16.7±0.47 







(16) 



(8) 



(3) 



(3) 



(2) 



Ratio of tail length 



1.0-1.3 



1.1-1.2 



1.1-1.3 



1.1-1.3 



1.0, 1.1 



to head and body length 



1 .2+0.08 



1.2±0.05 



1 ,2±0.07 



1.2±0.09 







(16) 



(7) 



(4) 



(3) 



(2) 



Condyloincisive length 



19.8-21.6 



19.8-20.9 



20.7-21.6 



20.7-21.2 



19.8 





20.6±0.55 



20.3±0.32 



21.1+0.38 



21.0±0.29 







(16) 



(8) 



(4) 



(3) 



(1) 



Upper toothrow length 



9.5-10.6 



9.5-10.0 



10.2-10.5 



10.0-10.6 



9.5 





10.0±0.37 



9.7±0.16 



10.4+0.13 



10.3±0.3 







(16) 



(8) 



(4) 



(3) 



(1) 



Maxillary breadth from 



5.8-6.6 



5.8-6.3 



6.0-6.5 



6.1-6.6 



5.8 



M3-M3 



6.1 ±0.26 



6.0±0.17 



6.3+0.21 



6.3±0.21 







(16) 



(8) 



(4) 



(3) 



(1) 



Braincase breadth 



8.6-9.7 



8.6-9.0 



9.2-9.6 



9.5-9.7 



9.1 





9.1 ±0.38 



8.8+0.15 



9.5+0.15 



9.6±0.12 







(16) 



(8) 



(4) 



(3) 



(1) 



Ratio of tail length 



3.6-4.4 



3.6^1.1 



3.6-3.9 



4.0-4.4 



4.0 



to condyloincisive 



3.9+0.25 



3.8±0.20 



3.8+0.13 



4.2±0.21 





length 



(15) 



(7) 



(4) 



(3) 



(1) 



Diagnosis. Digits of fore and hind feet and tail tip light coloured, 

 contrasting with darker coloration of head, body and tail. Ears pale 

 and conspicuous. Third upper and lower incisors (13 and i3) small, 13 

 slightly greater in crown height than distostyle of second upper 

 incisor (12), i3 subequal in height to posterior accessory cusp of 

 second lower incisor (i2); i2 greater in breadth than first lower 

 incisor (il); upper and lower canines greater in crown height than 

 second upper and lower premolars (P3 and p3) 



Description. Small to medium in size, tail longer than head and 

 body (see Figs 1-2 and Table 1). Pinnae prominent and conspicu- 

 ous, pale in colour, reaching beyond eye if pressed forward along 

 head. Dorsal pelage soft in texture and grizzled yellowish brown 

 and grey; hairs with silvery grey bases, bright buff distally, usually 

 with dark brown tips; guard hairs slender, dark brown to black, 

 some with pale tips. Ventral pelage light grey with buff or reddish 

 wash; individual hairs with light silvery grey bases and light cream 

 tips. Tail more or less bicolored, grey brown above, light grey buff 

 below; with contrastingly light coloured tip, usually with thin pen- 

 cil of white hairs. Tail scale hairs moderately dense, approximately 

 three scales in length. Fore and hind feet brown with contrasting 

 light coloured digits, often with light lateral line along outer side 

 of foot. Fifth digit of hind foot elongated and scarcely shorter than 

 second digit; cheiridia on the hind feet elongated. Skull small to 

 medium in size (see Table 1 ). Rostrum moderately broad; interor- 

 bital region moderately short; maxillary process of zygoma at right 

 angles to long axis of cranium; braincase broad and short (see Fig. 

 3). Dentition illustrated in Figs 3—4. First upper incisor (II) robust, 

 slightly proodont, distostyle prominent, lingual cingulum present, 

 buccal cingulum with accessory cusp; second upper incisor (12) 

 with small anterior accessory cusp, distostyle and prominent 



anterolingual cusp; 13 small, slightly greater than the distostyle of 

 12 in crown height, trace of distostyle evident in unworn teeth. 

 Upper canine (C) much greater than second upper premolar (P3) in 

 crown height, with indistinct anterior accessory cusp, distostyle 

 and lingual cingulum present. First upper premolar (P2) with small 

 anterior accessory cusp and distostyle; mesostyle of P3 small but 

 distinct, anterior ectostyle distinct and distostyle present; 

 mesostyle of third upper premolar (P4) large and distinct, anterior 

 ectostyle broad and distinct but posterior ectostyle and distostyle 

 distinct or indistinct; talon large and bicuspid in some specimens. 

 Talon of first and second upper molars (Ml and M2) large and 

 bicuspid; third upper molar (M3) subequal to or broader than M2. 

 Diastemata present between II and 12 and between 13 and C, C and 

 P3. Lower first incisor (i 1 ) procumbent, with distinct hypoconulid; 

 lower second incisor (i2) spatulate, subequal in crown height but 

 broader than il and much larger than very reduced third lower 

 incisor (i3); i3 subequal in height to posterior accessory cusp of i2. 

 Lower canine (c) procumbent, anterolingual cingulum present but 

 anterior accessory cusp lacking. First lower premolar (p2) smaller 

 than c and anteroflexed, anterior cusp very small or absent in some 

 individuals. Protoconid of second lower premolar (p3) lower in 

 crown height than that of third lower premolar (p4) and paraconid 

 present; p4 and first and second lower molars (ml and m2) lack 

 distinctive features, except for anterior and posterior buccal cin- 

 gula in most specimens. Talonid of third lower molar (m3) 

 incomplete and reduced to a hypoconulid, hypoconid indistinct or 

 absent, entoconid and entoconid ridge absent and entoconid basin 

 indistinct or absent. Diastemata generally absent, although present 

 in some individuals between c and p2. 



Deciduous Dentition Deciduous anterior teeth smaller than per- 

 manent anterior teeth, in particular first upper and lower deciduous 



