Megaladapis
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| Megaladapis | ||||||||||||
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Extinct (c.1500)
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Subgenus Peloriadapis
Subgenus Megaladapis
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Megaladapis is the genus of three extinct species of primates that once inhabited the island of Madagascar.
The closest living relatives of this genus are the sportive lemurs (genus Lepilemur), and together the two genera make up the Lepilemuridae family. However, Megaladapis was far different from any lemur. Its body was squat and built like that of the modern koala. Its long arms and fingers were specialized for grasping trees, while its legs were splayed for vertical climbling.
Additionally, its head was unlike any other primate. Megaladapis had long canine teeth and a cow-like jaw, forming a tapering snout. Its jaw muscles were powerful for chewing through the tough native vegetation. Overall, its body weight reached 50 kilograms. The shape of its skull was unique among all known primates, with a nasal region which showed similarities to those of black rhinos, what was probably a feature combined with an enlarged upper lip for grasping leaves.
Unfortunately, its tree-grasping attributes made Megaladapis vulnerable to changes to the forests of Madagascar. Upon human arrival between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago, the forests of Madagascar were cleared to make farmland. Megaladapis, unable to adapt to these new environmental changes imposed by man and being a tempting target for hunters, became extinct approximately 500 years ago, around the time of European discovery of Madagascar.
It is often believed that Malagasy legends of the tretretretre or tratratratra, an extinct animal, refer to Megaladapis, but the details of these tales, notably the "human-like" face of the animal, match the related Palaeopropithecus much better [1]. Bernard Heuvelmans proposed instead that Megaladapis was the basis for the tokandia [2]. Details such as a "hopping" motion while on the ground but usually being found in trees, a "non-human" face but "human-like" calls suggest that this identification may well be correct; at any rate, it agrees with Megaladapis far better than does the tretretretre. The tokandia is sometimes connected with the tsungaomby (or songomby), which is described as a carnivorous mammal similar to an ungulate but probably refers to one of the prehistoric species of hippopotamuses formerly occurring on Madagascar.
[edit] Other extinct giant lemurs
- Archaeoindris
- Archaeolemur
- Hadropithecus
- Pachylemur
- Palaeopropithecus
