Lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur

{{Short description|Species of lemur}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur

| taxon = Cheirogaleus minusculus

| authority = Groves, 2000{{MSW3 Groves | pages = 112|id=12100013}}

| status = DD

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{Cite iucn | author = Andriaholinirina, N. | display-authors = etal | title = Cheirogaleus minusculus | volume = 2014 | page = e.T136800A16111635 | date = 2014 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T136800A16111635.en | access-date = 2 June 2023}}

| status2 = CITES_A1

| status2_system = CITES

| status2_ref = {{cite book | last1 = Harcourt | first1 = C.| editor-last1 = Thornback | editor-first1 = J | title = Lemurs of Madagascar and the Comoros: The IUCN Red Data Book | publisher = World Conservation Union | year = 1990 | isbn = 978-2-88032-957-0 | oclc = 28425691 | url = https://archive.org/details/lemursofmadagasc90harc | format = PDF}}

| range_map = Cheirogaleus minusculus range map.svg

| range_map_caption = Lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur range

}}

The lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus minusculus), or large iron-gray dwarf lemur, is a small nocturnal lemur endemic to Madagascar. It is nocturnal and an arboreal quadruped, and is not very agile. It produces three types of vocalisation: a squeak, which is high in pitch and is produced with the mouth closed, and is used between infants and their mothers; a whistle, which is higher in pitch than the squeak, so it is hard to hear with human ears, and is used as a communicative and possibly territorial call; and a grunt, which is usually given in series and is very powerful, used when an individual is being attacked in its nest.{{Cite web|url=http://www.theprimata.com/cheirogaleus_minusculus.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208224536/http://www.theprimata.com/cheirogaleus_minusculus.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 8, 2008|title=Small Iron-gray Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus minusculus)|last=Flannery|first=Sean|website=www.theprimata.com|access-date=2017-03-20}}

This species is only known to exist from one museum specimen from Ambositra, north of Fianarantsoa in east-central Madagascar. As of 2010, no studies in the wild have been conducted of the lesser iron-gray dwarf lemur, and it is unknown whether it still survives in this region. There are no reports of it being kept in captivity.{{Cite web|url=http://lemursofmadagascar.com/html/content/cheirogaleus-minusculus-groves-2000|title=Cheirogaleus minusculus Groves, 2000 {{!}} Lemurs of Madagascar|website=lemursofmadagascar.com|access-date=2017-03-20|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924043225/http://lemursofmadagascar.com/html/content/cheirogaleus-minusculus-groves-2000|archive-date=2016-09-24}}