Microcebus tavaratra
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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. The crown and ears of this species are a reddish shade and the area between the eyes is grayish-white. The orbital area is raw umber and cinnamon and around the anterior portion of the eyes there are black markings. The proximal part of the tail is bicolored raw umber and cinnamon, and the distal portion of the tail is cinnamon brown and raw umber. The pelage of the hands and feet of the northern rufous mouse lemur is whitish-gray in color. This species has vibrissae that are dark in color. Microcebus tavaratra is rather small, standing at roughly 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) tall. It is also a nocturnal and omnivorous species.
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ankarana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Tavaratra Mouse Lemur sighting in Ankarana National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 9 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Tavaratra Mouse Lemur in Ankarana National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April, July–August and December, the lowest months. That is one of Ankarana National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 460 mm in January. March has too few records to rate.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tavaratra Mouse Lemur sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Ankarana National Park, in our data
Ankarana National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Tavaratra Mouse Lemur sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Primates
The closest relatives of the Tavaratra Mouse Lemur that you can see in Ankarana National Park (order Primates) are Ankarana Sportive Lemur (about 80%), Crowned Lemur (about 70%) and Sanford's Brown Lemur (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tavaratra Mouse Lemur is recorded against all the mammals logged in Ankarana National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
