Sibree's Dwarf Lemur

Open encyclopedia reference

Sibree's dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus sibreei) is a small nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar.

The name of this dwarf lemur commemorates the English missionary and naturalist James Sibree (1836–1929).

In 2010, a research team confirmed that they had found the only known living population of Sibree's dwarf lemurs several years before. The species was long believed extinct, following the destruction of its first recorded forest habitat. This was also the first confirmation of Sibree's dwarf lemur as a unique species.

Sibree's dwarf lemur spends the winter by hibernating 10 to 40 cm (3.9 to 15.7 in) underground in small burrows. This keeps body temperature steady at around 15 °C (59 °F) and possibly provides protection from predators.

Wikipedia contributors, Sibree's dwarf lemur; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:43:35.546581+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Cheirogaleus sibreei (Forsyth Major, 1896)

Name authority

(Forsyth Major, 1896)

Common name

Sibree's 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.

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. genusCheirogaleus É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812
17. speciesCheirogaleus sibreei (Forsyth Major, 1896)

Close classified relatives

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

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.

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=944043 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.

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:69RNZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.