The animal, brown and similar to a mongoose (note, the picture left is a dwarf mongoose not the new species discovered), was found in the wetlands of Lake Alaotra, the largest expanse of fresh water on the Indian Ocean island, AFP reported.
Accordfing to a report on News24, it has been baptised Durrell’s vontsira (Salanoia durelli) after the late British naturalist Gerald Durrell, who led conservation projects in Madagascar.
The mammal belongs to the eupleridae family, which is endemic to Madagascar.