New meat-eater



Durrell's vontsira.  Credit:
Photo from Durrell Wildlife
Conservation Trust

 The world's newest carnivore has surfaced in Madagascar.  Researchers at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust have identified Durrell's vontsira (Salanoia durrelli), a small meat-eater belonging to a carnivore family known only from Madagascar.  The little guy weighs only about a pound, and immediately becomes not only the world's newest carnivore species, but one of its most endangered.  The mongoose-like animal was observed swimming in a lake in the Lac Alaotra marsh region.  After capture, it was determined to be distinct from the brown-tailed vontsira that is also found in the region.