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(Zurich) Researchers from the University of Zurich have named a newly discovered species of lemur - one of the most primitive and endangered primates in the world - after the British comedian in honour of his work with the animal.

The avahi cleesei, which weights less than one kilogram and eats leaves, was discovered in western Madagascar in 1990 by a team led by anthropologist Urs Thalmann and his colleague Thomas Geissman of Zurich University.

The name is a tribute to Cleese's promotion of the plight of lemurs in the movie Fierce Creatures and documentary Operation Lemur with John Cleese, the university said in a statement. A lemur even appears next to Cleese on his website.

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