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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Northern Rufous Mouse Lemur

Microcebus tavaratra Rasoloarison, Goodman & Ganzhorn, 2000

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The northern rufous mouse lemur (Microcebus tavaratra), northern brown mouse lemur, or Tavaratra mouse lemur is found in northern Madagascar from the Ankarana Special Reserve in the west to the Manambato River in the northeast, and up to the Irodo River in the north of the Analamerana Special Reserve. The complete distribution range of M. tavaratra is still to be defined as some areas surrounding the described distribution have not been visited yet. For example, M. tavaratra has been reported to possibly occur from the Irodo up to the Montagne des Français. Its known distribution cover four protected areas – the Ankarana Special Reserve, and the Analamerana Special Reserve both managed by Madagascar National Parks, the Loky-Manambato protected area (Daraina), and the Andavakoeira-Andrafiamena protected area, both Managed by the NGO Fanamby Microcebus tavaratra has long, dense pelage that is bicolored to tricolored, raw umber, clay color, and yellow ochre, dorsally and a whitish-beige color ventrally. The mid-dorsal stripe varies in color from raw umber to verona brown.

Wikipedia contributors, Northern rufous mouse lemur; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:44:01.253750+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Microcebus tavaratra Rasoloarison, Goodman & Ganzhorn, 2000
Name authority
Rasoloarison, Goodman & Ganzhorn, 2000
Common name
Northern Rufous Mouse Lemur
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Primates
Family
Cheirogaleidae
Genus
Microcebus
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
  9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
  10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
  11. orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
  12. suborderStrepsirrhini É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812
  13. infraorderLemuriformes Gray, 1821
  14. superfamilyCheirogaleoidea Gray, 1873
  15. familyCheirogaleidae Gray, 1873
  16. genusMicrocebus É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1834
  17. speciesMicrocebus tavaratra Rasoloarison, Goodman & Ganzhorn, 2000

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Microcebus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Berthe's Mouse LemurMicrocebus berthae Rasoloarison, Goodman & Ganzhorn, 2000CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Bongolava Mouse LemurMicrocebus bongolavensis Olivieri, Zimmermann, Randrianambinina, Rassoloharijaona, Rakotondravony, Gsuchanski et al., 2006CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Gerp's Mouse LemurMicrocebus gerpi Radespiel, Ratsimbazafy, Rasoloharijaona, Raveloson, Andriaholinirina, Rakotondravony et al., 2011CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Jolly's Mouse LemurMicrocebus jollyae Louis Jr., Coles, Andriantompohavana, Sommer, Engberg, Zaonarivelo, Mayor & Brenneman, 2006CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Marohita Mouse LemurMicrocebus marohita Rasoloarison, Weisrock, Yoder, Rakotondravony & Kappeler, 2013CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Gray Mouse LemurMicrocebus murinus (J. F. Miller, 1777)CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Peters' Mouse LemurMicrocebus myoxinus Peters, 1852CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Golden-brown Mouse LemurMicrocebus ravelobensis Zimmerman, Ehresmann, Zeitemann, Radespiel, Randrianambinina & Rakotoarison, 1997CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Brown Mouse LemurMicrocebus rufus (Lesson, 1840)CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Montagne d'Ambre Mouse LemurMicrocebus arnholdi Louis Jr., Engberg, McGuire, McCormick, Randriamampionona, Ranaivoarisoa, Bailey et al., 2008CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Margot Marsh's Mouse LemurMicrocebus margotmarshae Louis Jr., Engberg, McGuire, McCormick, Randriamampionona, Ranaivoarisoa, Bailey et al., 2008CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Jonah's Mouse LemurMicrocebus jonahi Schüssler, Blanco, Salmona, Poelstra, Andriambeloson, Miller, Randrianambinina et al., 2020CheirogaleidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 39 records assigned to Cheirogaleidae.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Africa

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=944031 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:42SC6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.