AnAge entry for Microcebus murinus

Classification (HAGRID: 02775)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Primates (Taxon entry)
                Family: Cheirogaleidae
                    Genus: Microcebus
Species: Microcebus murinus
Common name: Gray mouse lemur
Synonyms: Chirogaleus gliroides, Galago madagascarensis, Prosimia minima, Cheirogaleus minor, Myscebus palmarum, Lemur prehensilis, Lemur pusillus

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

Maximum longevity

18.2 years (captivity)

Source

ref. 671

Sample size

Medium

Data quality

Acceptable

Observations

Grey mouse lemurs appear to be among the shortest lived primates [0463]. One captive specimen lived for 18.2 years [0671]. In the wild these animals experience very high levels of extrinsic mortality. Wild grey mouse lemurs have shorter lifespans, however the oldest animals display no evidence of functional senescence. In contrast, captive grey mouse lemurs show senescence in their ability to regain lost body mass and a reverse sex bias in lifespan (favouring males) [1189]. Captive grey mouse lemurs are generally weaker and show earlier decline in physical strength than wild animals. Wild female grey mouse lemurs are generally stronger than their male counterparts [1190].

Moderate caloric restriction was found to extend the lifespan of males by 50%, reduce age-related diseases, preserve the loss of white matter in several brain regions and accelerate the loss of grey matter in older animals. However, this atrophy by loss of grey matter was not associated with changes in cognitive performances [1361].

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity: 243 days
Male sexual maturity: 243 days
Gestation: 61 days
Weaning
Litter size: 2 (viviparous)
Litters per year: 1
Inter-litter interval: 73 days
Weight at birth: 6 g
Weight at weaning
Adult weight: 64.8 g
Postnatal growth rate: 0.0362 days^-1 (from Gompertz function)
Maximum longevity residual: 197%

Metabolism

No information on metabolism is available.

References

[1361] Pifferi et al. (2018), Caloric restriction increases lifespan but affects brain integrity in grey mouse lemur primates (PubMed)
[1236] Didier et al. (2016), Contributions of Nonhuman Primates to Research on Aging (PubMed)
[1190] Hamalainen et al. (2015), Losing grip: Senescent decline in physical strength in a small-bodied primate in captivity and in the wild (PubMed)
[1221] Blanco and Zehr (2015), Striking longevity in a hibernating lemur
[1301] Zehr et al. (2014), Life history profiles for 27 strepsirrhine primate taxa generated using captive data from the Duke Lemur Center (PubMed)
[1189] Hamalainen et al. (2014), Senescence or selective disappearance? Age trajectories of body mass in wild and captive populations of a small-bodied primate (PubMed)
[0942] Terrien et al. (2011), Physiological responses to chronic heat exposure in an aging non-human primate species, the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) (PubMed)
[0875] Terrien et al. (2010), Non-shivering thermogenesis activation and maintenance in the aging gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) (PubMed)
[0740] Picq (2007), Aging affects executive functions and memory in mouse lemur primates (PubMed)
[0728] Aujard et al. (2006), Behavioral thermoregulation in a non human primate: Effects of age and photoperiod on temperature selection (PubMed)
[0700] Cayetanot et al. (2005), Shortened seasonal photoperiodic cycles accelerate aging of the diurnal and circadian locomotor activity rhythms in a primate (PubMed)
[0518] Perret and Aujard (2005), Aging and season affect plasma dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels in a primate (PubMed)
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0352] Aujard and Nemoz-Bertholet (2004), Response to urinary volatiles and chemosensory function decline with age in a prosimian primate (PubMed)
[0353] Nemoz-Bertholet and Aujard (2003), Physical activity and balance performance as a function of age in a prosimian primate (Microcebus murinus) (PubMed)
[0681] Peter Kappeler and Michael Pereira (2003), Primate Life Histories and Socioecology
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0467] Lindenfors (2002), Sexually antagonistic selection on primate size
[0415] Aujard et al. (2001), Artificially accelerated aging by shortened photoperiod alters early gene expression (Fos) in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and sulfatoxymelatonin excretion in a small primate, Microcebus murinus (PubMed)
[0144] Gilissen et al. (1999), Topographical localization of lipofuscin pigment in the brain of the aged fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius) and grey lesser mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus): comparison to iron localization (PubMed)
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0354] Aujard and Perret (1998), Age-related effects on reproductive function and sexual competition in the male prosimian primate, Microcebus murinus (PubMed)
[0143] Gilissen et al. (1998), Topographical localization of iron in brains of the aged fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius) and gray lesser mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) (PubMed)
[0355] Jallageas et al. (1998), Age-related changes in serotonergic and catecholaminergic brain systems in the lemurian primate Microcebus murinus (PubMed)
[0356] Dhenain et al. (1998), Cerebral T2-weighted signal decrease during aging in the mouse lemur primate reflects iron accumulation (PubMed)
[0463] Austad (1997), Small nonhuman primates as potential models of human aging (PubMed)
[0494] Giannakopoulos et al. (1997), Quantitative analysis of tau protein-immunoreactive accumulations and beta amyloid protein deposits in the cerebral cortex of the mouse lemur, Microcebus murinus (PubMed)
[0496] Delacourte et al. (1995), Biochemical characterization of Tau proteins during cerebral aging of the lemurian primate Microcebus murinus (PubMed)
[0495] Bons et al. (1995), Immunocytochemical characterization of Tau proteins during cerebral aging of the lemurian primate Microcebus murinus (PubMed)
[0164] Holleschau and Rathbun (1994), The effects of age on glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activities in lenses of Old World simians and prosimians (PubMed)
[0357] Dournaud et al. (1994), Choline acetyltransferase and somatostatin levels in aged Microcebus murinus brain (PubMed)
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0358] Bons et al. (1992), Senile plaques and neurofibrillary changes in the brain of an aged lemurian primate, Microcebus murinus (PubMed)
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0679] Harvey and Clutton-Brock (1985), Life-history variation in primates
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves

External Resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information System: ITIS 572861
Animal Diversity Web: ADW account
Encyclopaedia of Life: Search EOL
NCBI Taxonomy: Taxonomy ID 30608
Entrez: Search all databases
Ageing Literature: Search Google Scholar or Search PubMed
Images: Google Image search
Internet: Search Google