Durrell's vontsira

Durrell's vontsira, Salanoia durrelli, is a small, reddish-brown, fox-like carnivoran of the family Eupleridae that lives only in the marshes of Lake Alaotra in Madagascar. It was first seen swimming in 2004 during a survey of bamboo lemurs, two animals were caught in 2005, and it was formally described in 2010 and named for the conservationist Gerald Durrell. Compared with its close relative the brown-tailed mongoose it is paler, with broad padded feet, reddish-buff underparts and a more robust skull and teeth that may suit crustaceans and molluscs. The two weighed animals were 600 and 675 g. The lake's marshes are threatened by rice-field conversion, overfishing and introduced species, and its status has not been formally assessed.