At the Marosalaza forest (north of Morondava), Coquerel's giant mouse lemur is sympatric with four other nocturnal lemurs (mouse lemurs, sportive lemurs, dwarf lemurs, and fork-marked lemurs), but manages niche differentiation by feeding at different times and specializing on insect secretions during the dry season.
In order to conserve energy and water in their highly seasonal environment, mouse lemurs and dwarf lemurs exhibit seasonal behavioral cycles of dormancy where the metabolic rate and body temperature are lowered.
Nocturnal lemurs such as mouse lemurs and dwarf lemurs, on the other hand, have retinas made up entirely of rod cells.
First described in 1867 as a single species, they were grouped with mouse lemurs and dwarf lemurs.
The smaller, nocturnal lemurs, such as mouse lemurs, giant mouse lemurs, and dwarf lemurs, usually give birth to more than one infant, whereas the larger, nocturnal lemurs, such as fork-marked lemurs, sportive lemurs, and the aye-aye usually have one offspring.
Unlike mouse lemurs and more like dwarf lemurs, giant mouse lemurs have a prominant anterior lower premolar (P2).
Species that park their offspring include nocturnal species (e.g. mouse lemurs, sportive lemurs, and dwarf lemurs), bamboo lemurs, and ruffed lemurs.
Dwarf and mouse lemurs have up to four offspring, but both average only two.
By the 1970s, reference to dwarf and mouse lemurs had ended, and the "fork-crowned" prefix became popular between 1960 and 2001.
The skull is similar to that of dwarf and mouse lemurs, and the auditory bullae are small.
