NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Lavasoa Dwarf Lemur
Cheirogaleus lavasoensis Thiele, Razafimahatratra & Hapke, 2013
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 Lavasoa dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus lavasoensis) is a small, nocturnal strepsirrhine primate and a species of lemur that is endemic to three small, isolated patches of forest on the southern slopes of the Lavasoa Mountains in southern Madagascar. Fewer than 50 individuals are thought to exist. Its habitat lies in a transitional zone between three ecoregions: dry spiny bush, humid littoral forest, and humid forest. First collected in 2001 and thought to be a subpopulation of the furry-eared dwarf lemur (C. crossleyi), it was not formally described until 2013. It is one of six species of dwarf lemur, though the research that identified it also suggested the existence of many more new species.
Wikipedia contributors, Lavasoa dwarf lemur; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:16:46.982809+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cheirogaleus lavasoensis Thiele, Razafimahatratra & Hapke, 2013
- Name authority
- Thiele, Razafimahatratra & Hapke, 2013
- Common name
- Lavasoa Dwarf Lemur
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Primates
- Family
- Cheirogaleidae
- Genus
- Cheirogaleus
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderPrimates Linnaeus, 1758
- suborderStrepsirrhini É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812
- infraorderLemuriformes Gray, 1821
- superfamilyCheirogaleoidea Gray, 1873
- familyCheirogaleidae Gray, 1873
- genusCheirogaleus É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812
- speciesCheirogaleus lavasoensis Thiele, Razafimahatratra & Hapke, 2013
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cheirogaleus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fat-tailed Dwarf LemurCheirogaleus medius É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812 | CheirogaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Montagne d'Ambre Dwarf LemurCheirogaleus andysabini Lei et al., 2015 | CheirogaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser Iron-gray Dwarf LemurCheirogaleus minusculus Groves, 2000 | CheirogaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sibree's Dwarf LemurCheirogaleus sibreei (Forsyth Major, 1896) | CheirogaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Andringitra Dwarf LemurCheirogaleus grovesi McLain, Lei, Frasier, Taylor, Bailey, Roberts, Nash, Randriamanana, Mittermeier & Louis Jr., 2017 | CheirogaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Thomas' Dwarf LemurCheirogaleus thomasi (Forsyth Major, 1894) | CheirogaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crossley's Dwarf LemurCheirogaleus crossleyi A. Grandidier, 1870 | CheirogaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ankarana Dwarf LemurCheirogaleus shethi Frasier, Lei, McLain, Taylor, Bailey et al., 2016 | CheirogaleidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- Thiele, Dana, Emilienne Razafimahatratra, & and Andreas Hapke. (2013). Discrepant partitioning of genetic diversity in mouse lemurs and dwarf lemurs-Biological reality or taxonomic bias? Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Vol. 69, No. 3. 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:5Y3NW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.