10 



P.D. JENKINS, C.J. RAXWORTHY AND R.A. NUSSBAUM 



Table 7 Comparison of adult Microgale parvula and M. pusilla. 



Dimensions presented as range, mean±standard deviation and number of 

 specimens in parentheses. 





M. parvula 



M. pusilla 



Head and body 



49.6-64 



52 



length 



56.1+3.8 







(19) 



(1) 



Tail length 



46.5-66 

 54.8±5.9 



72 





(19) 



(1) 



Hind foot length 



9-11 

 10.0±0.64 



12 





(19) 



(1) 



Ratio of tail length to 



0.8-1.1 



1.4 



head and body length 



1.0±0.08 







(18) 



(1) 



Condyloincisive length 



15.5-17.1 



15.6-16.8 





16.4±0.36 



16.4±0.4 





(17) 



(6) 



Upper toothrow length 



6.9-7.8 



7.2-7.9 





7.4±0.21 



7.6±0.19 





(18) 



(9) 



Maxillary breadth 



4.3-4.6 



4.9-5.2 



from M3-M3 



4.5±0.08 



5.0±0.11 





(19) 



(9) 



Braincase breadth 



6.4-6.9 



6.8-7.3 





6.7±0.15 



7.0±0.16 





(18) 



(6) 



Braincase height 



3.6-4.3 



4.7-5.4 





4.0±0.17 



5.0±0.24 





(18) 



(6) 



Ratio of tail length to 



2.9-4.0 



4.4 



condyloincisive length 



3.4±0.33 







(17) 



(1) 



author but later demonstrated to have a deciduous dentition by 

 MacPhee (1987). Perhaps because its very small size presents 

 collection difficulties, no further specimens were recorded in the 

 literature nor represented in the major museum collections accessed 

 by MacPhee (1987). The dentition of this specimen was illustrated 

 by MacPhee (1987), who also corrected the measurements given in 



the original description. He was in no doubt about the validity of this 

 distinctively small species, which he grouped in the cowani cluster 

 on the basis of phenetic characters. The origin of the holotype of M. 

 parvula is the same as for M. drouhardi and similar arguments may 

 be applied, suggesting that it was most probably collected from 

 Montagne d'Ambre and from rain forest. It was assumed that the 

 species might be confined to northern Madagascar. Microgale pulla 

 Jenkins, 1988 was described from another single, although adult 

 specimen, from further south. MacPhee (personal communication) 

 advised that this specimen might simply represent the adult of M. 

 parvula and this possibility was mentioned in the original descrip- 

 tion of M. pulla, although the data available at that time suggested 

 otherwise. Recent collections from different localities extending 

 from Montagne d'Ambre in the extreme north to the eastern forest as 

 far south as Manantantely, included adult and juvenile specimens 

 positively ascribable to the same taxon, directly associating the adult 

 pulla with the juvenile parvula. Microgale pulla was synonymised 

 with M. parvula (see Jenkins et al., 1996). 



Description. Very small (see Table 7 and Fig. 2), tail subequal in 

 length to that of head and body. Dorsal pelage dark brown, ventral 

 pelage dark grey brown, tail and feet uniform dark grey brown. 

 Individual hairs of dorsal pelage with grey bases, orange red distally 

 with brown tips, guard hairs flattened, with grey bases and brown 

 tips. Hairs of ventral pelage with grey bases and brown or reddish 

 buff tips. Tail scales visible beneath moderately dense scale hairs, 

 2.5-3 scales in length. Skull very small, delicate and elongated in 

 appearance (see Fig. 9); rostrum slender, moderately short; brain- 

 case shallow and long, frontals and occipital large relative to parietals, 

 occipital condyles postero-dorsally orientated. Diastemata present 

 between II and 12 and on either side of C and P2; anterior and 

 posterior accessory cusps present on 12, 13 and P2. Diastema be- 

 tween c and p2. Talonid of m3 with well developed hypoconulid but 

 reduced hypoconid, entoconid and entoconid ridge, and narrow, 

 shallow talonid basin. See Fig. 10 for illustrations of permanent and 

 deciduous dentitions. 



Variation. There is no obvious intraspecific variation in pelage 

 coloration or size between the populations studied, nor any evidence 



Fig. 9 Cranium of Microgale parvula (FMNH 151621) from left to right, dorsal, ventral, and lateral view of cranium and mandible. 



