A Preliminary Assessment of Sifaka (Propithecus) Distribution, Chromatic Variation and Conservation in Western Central Madagascar

Distributional Limits and Melanism in the South-West of the Range of the Crowned Sifaka (Propithecus coronatus), Madagascar

“…The two other species, crowned sifaka and Decken's sifaka, occur in the region between these two rivers, mostly in allopatric or parapatric populations, but with several populations showing melanistic or possibly hybrid forms (Tattersall 1986;Curtis et al 1998;Pastorini et al 2001;Thalmann et al 2002;King et al 2012King et al , 2014Rakotonirina et al 2014), and some isolated reports of possible co-occurrence of the two species (Tattersall 1982(Tattersall , 1988Thalmann and Rakotoarison 1994; but see Rakotonirina et al 2014 andKing et al 2014). It is, therefore, of particular interest to study whether these two species differ in the acoustic structure of their loud call to understand if these calls are used for species recognition, and whether they may function as a premating isolation mechanism preventing hybridization (Ryan and Rand 1999;Höbel and Gerhardt 2003;Grant and Grant 2006).…”

Spatio-Temporal Change in Crowned (Propithecus coronatus) and Decken's Sifaka (Propithecus deckenii) Habitat in the Mahavavy-Kinkony Wetland Complex, Madagascar

“…Sifaka color variations occur towards the lower reaches of the Mahavavy and Manombolo rivers, at sites in the Melaky and Menabe Regions, with melanistic forms reported in populations of both crowned and Decken's sifakas (King et al 2014;Rakotonirina et al 2014). Similar color variations have also been reported in populations of Decken's sifaka further north, including that of the Mahavavy-Kinkony Wetland Complex (Curtis et al 1998;Thalmann et al 2002;Rumpler et al 2011;Rakotonirina et al 2014).…”

“…Crowned and Decken's sifaka are found in dry deciduous forest in west and central Madagascar. In the north of its range, the crowned sifaka is found between the Mahavavy and Betsiboka rivers, and recent surveys have shown that its full distribution extends southwards through the fragmented forests of the Boeny, Betsiboka, Bongolava and Menabe regions towards the rivers Tsiribihina, Mahajilo, and Mania (King et al 2012(King et al , 2014Rakotonirina et al 2014;Salmona et al 2014). Decken's sifaka is found to the west of the Mahavavy River, its distribution extending south to the Manambolo River (Mittermeier et al 2010;King et al 2014).…”

The European Captive Population of Crowned Sifaka: 25 Years of Management

“…In the wild the crowned sifaka lives in groups of two to eight individuals (King et al 2012;Pichon 2012;Rakotonirina et al 2014), usually with only one breeding female (Pichon 2012;Rakotonirina et al 2014;pers. obs.).…”

“…7;Razafindramanana and Rasamimanana 2010). The isolation of this site, and the discovery of additional small populations by the "Tsibahaka project" initiated and coordinated by The Aspinall Foundation (TAF 2009;King et al 2012;Rakotonirina et al 2014) The first technical meeting for the conservation of the crowned sifaka was primarily funded by EAZA. During this meeting, the captive population, which is an important part of the metapopulation conservation project, especially in the management of the most isolated groups living in very small fragments of forest, was identified as one of the priorities for the conservation of the crowned sifaka (MEF/GERP/ TAF 2011).…”