What is "mouse lemur"

Mouse \Mouse\ (mous), n.; pl. Mice (m[imac]s). [OE. mous, mus, AS. m[=u]s, pl. m[=y]s; akin to D. muis, G. maus, OHG. & Icel. m[=u]s, Dan. muus, Sw. mus, Russ. muishe, L. mus, Gr. my^s, Skr. m[=u]sh mouse, mush to steal. [root]277. Cf. Muscle, Musk.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of small rodents belonging to the genus Mus and various related genera of the family Murid[ae]. The common house mouse ( Mus musculus) is found in nearly all countries. The American white-footed mouse, or deer mouse ( Peromyscus leucopus, formerly Hesperomys leucopus) sometimes lives in houses. See Dormouse, Meadow mouse, under Meadow, and Harvest mouse, under Harvest.

2. (Naut.)

   1. A knob made on a rope with spun yarn or parceling to prevent a running eye from slipping.

   2. Same as 2d Mousing, 2.

3. A familiar term of endearment.
   --Shak.

4. A dark-colored swelling caused by a blow. [Slang]

5. A match used in firing guns or blasting. Field mouse, Flying mouse, etc. See under Field, Flying, etc. Mouse bird (Zo["o]l.), a coly. Mouse deer (Zo["o]l.), a chevrotain, as the kanchil. Mouse galago (Zo["o]l.), a very small West American galago ( Galago murinus). In color and size it resembles a mouse. It has a bushy tail like that of a squirrel. Mouse hawk. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A hawk that devours mice.

   2. The hawk owl; -- called also mouse owl.

      Mouse lemur (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of very small lemurs of the genus Chirogaleus, found in Madagascar.

      Mouse piece (Cookery), the piece of beef cut from the part next below the round or from the lower part of the latter; -- called also mouse buttock.

n. Any of nocturnal lemurs of the genus ''Microcebus'' native to Madagascar.

The mouse lemurs are nocturnal lemurs of the genus Microcebus. Like all lemurs, mouse lemurs are native to Madagascar.

Mouse lemurs have a combined head, body and tail length of less than , making them the smallest primates (the smallest species being Madame Berthe's mouse lemur); however, their weight fluctuates in response to daylight duration. Lemurs and Mouse Lemurs were announced by the IUCN as the most endangered of all vertebrates. There are about 24 mouse lemur species identified by 2016. There were only 2 known mouse lemur species by 1992. It was estimated that the 24 mouse lemur species evolved from a common ancestor 10 million years ago. Evolution of mouse lemurs is an example for adaptive radiation.

Mouse lemurs are omnivorous; their diets are diverse and include insect secretions, arthropods, small vertebrates, gum, fruit, flowers, nectar, and also leaves and buds depending on the season.

Mouse lemurs are considered cryptic species - with very little morphological differences between the various species, but with high genetic diversity. Recent evidence points to differences in their mating calls, which is very diverse. Since mouse lemurs are nocturnal, they might not have evolved to look differently, but had evolved various auditory and vocal systems.

Mouse lemurs have the smallest known brain of any primate, at just 0.004 pounds (2 grams).