mysterious

 Mysterious Island

From Monaco for the 150th anniversary of Jules Verne in 1975 

To a 1961 mongoose lemur from Madagascar

For Sunday Stamps - the letter 'M'

island mammals

This pine marten is only found on the island of Newfoundland, one of only 14 native mammals on the island.   They are about the size of a small housecat and weigh between 1.6lbs to 2.4lbs.

The ring tailed lemur is only found on the island of Madagascar. Unlike the marten, these lemurs are very social and live in groups of up to 30. Both are listed as endangered.

For Sunday Stamps - small animals

Sunday Stamps II - 150

1954, Madagascar

This is a Uratelornis chimaera, or a long-tailed ground-roller that is only found in a small section of south-western Madagascar only 30-60 km wide and 200 km long. They were considered threatened in 1988 and have been vulnerable since 1994. The forests where it lives are not protected by the Malagasy government and there is widespread slash and burn agriculture as well as logging. This bird has the longest tail of the ground rollers at up to 12" of the bird's 19" length. It has a plump body and short wings and rarely flies, but it apparently can run very fast. Also, the female loses her magnificent tail feathers when nesting.

for the letter M - Madagascar

Sunday Stamps II - 14

1961, Madagascar  (known as Malagasy 1960-1975)
Fourth largest island in the world
Showing a Ruffed Lemur. They are considered critically endangered (since 2008) having declined in population by 80% over the last 30 years mostly due to the fact that as much as 90% of the original island forest has been decimated.