Researchers have discovered a new primate species in eastern Madagascar.

The Microcebus gerpi -- or the Gerp's mouse lemur -- was discovered in the Sahafina Forest, an area that has never been studied before.

"We were quite surprised by these findings. The Sahafina Forest is only 50 km away from the Mantadia National Park in eastern Madagascar, which contains a different and much smaller species, the Goodman's mouse lemur," researcher Ute Radespiel said in a release Saturday.

The Gerp mouse lemur -- named in honour of the Malagasy research group GERP (Groupe d'Étude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar) -- has a body mass of 68g.

The discovery has been published in the journal Primates.