| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | MAMMALIA | PRIMATES | INDRIIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Propithecus candidus | |||
| Species Authority: | A. Grandidier, 1871 | |||
Common Name/s:
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| Synonym/s: |
Propithecus diadema (A. Grandidier, 1871) ssp. candidus
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| Taxonomic Notes: | Considered a subspecies of P. diadema by Groves (2001), although Mayor et al. (2004) and Groves and Helgen (2007) considered it worthy of species status. | |||
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Critically Endangered C2a(i) ver 3.1 | |||||||||
| Year Assessed: | 2008 | |||||||||
| Assessor/s | 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., Patel, E., 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. | |||||||||
| Evaluator/s: | Mittermeier, R.A. & Rylands, A.B. (Primate Red List Authority) | |||||||||
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Justification: Listed as Critically Endangered as the species is estimated to number less than 250 mature individuals, there is a continuing decline, and the number of mature individuals in any subpopulation is thought not to exceed 50 mature animals. |
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| History: |
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| Range Description: | This species has a very restricted range in north-eastern Madagascar that includes the humid forest belt extending from Maroantsetra to the Andapa Basin and the Marojejy Massif, but the precise limits of its distribution are unknown. Marojejy National Park represents the northern limit of its known distribution and the forests of Makira and the Antainambalana River are currently regarded as the southern limit. They are patchily distributed and occur at low densities. It is most commonly encountered at elevations between 700 and 1,875 m asl (Patel et al. 2007; Mittermeier et al. 2008). |
| Countries: |
Native:
Madagascar
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| Range Map: |
(click map to view full version)
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| Population: | This is one of the rarest and most threatened sifakas, believed to number less than 250 mature individuals. Sterling and McFadden (2000) provided two population density estimates within Marojejy: 40 individuals/km² and 90 individuals/km². Each estimate was from a different elevational range along the same main trail to the summit. However, this was a very short study from only one small section (the most well traveled) of Marojejy National Park, and clearly these estimates are not representative of the entire park (E. Patel pers. comm.). The numbers of known mature individuals in Marojejy is around a dozen mature individuals; six mature individuals are known from Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve (E. Patel pers. comm.). |
| Population Trend: |
Decreasing
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| Habitat and Ecology: | It is found mainly in tropical moist montane forest. This species has been the subject of one intensive 14.5 month study and a few short-term studies in Marojejy National Park and Anjanaharibe-Sud. Group size ranges from 2-9, and home ranges can exceed 40 ha. Groups spend about a quarter of their time traveling between foraging sites. Mating occurs just a few days each year between November and January, with young being born in June or July (Mittermeier et al. 2008, and references therein). |
| Systems: | Terrestrial |
| Major Threat(s): | The major threats to this species are habitat destruction and hunting, particularly within the Marojejy Massif and Andapa Basin, and even within the boundaries of the only two protected areas in which it is found, Marojejy National Park and the Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve. Mining activities in Anjanaharibe-Sud are exacerbating hunting activities due to improved infrastructure. Large trucks have been observed containing rosewood, palissandre, ebony and other valuable hardwood trees that were illegally cut within Marojejy and Anjanaharibe-Sud (E. Patel pers. comm.). |
| Conservation Actions: | This species is listed on Appendix I of CITES. It is found in the Marojejy National Park and the Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve, and (very rarely) the Anjanaharibe and Manandriana portions of Makira Protected Area north of the Antainambalana River. A small number of unexplored forest reserves and classified forests in north-eastern Madagascar are within the presumed range of this species and should be surveyed. Ambodivoahangy forest, where the species has been recorded, and the corridor between Betaolana and Anjanaharibe-Sud should be protected as a Conservation Site. Efforts aimed at ending lemur hunting in the Marojejy region and elsewhere should be continued and expanded. As of 2007, there are no animals held in captivity. |
| Citation: | 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., Patel, E., 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. Propithecus candidus. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 November 2009. |
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