Archaeoindris
Name:
Archaeoindris
(Ancient indri).
Phonetic: Ar-kay-o-in-driss.
Named By: Herbert F. Standing - 1908.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Primates,
Strepsirrhini, Lemuriformes, Palaeopropithecidae.
Species: A. fontoynonti (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About 1.5 meters high and around 200
kilograms in weight.
Known locations: Madagascar.
Time period: Roughly the Pleistocene to Holocene.
Fossil representation: Partial remains.
Comparable
in size to a gorilla, Archaeoindris is one of the
largest known sloth
lemurs. Initially considered to have been a ground dwelling
quadruped, further study has now led to the suggestions that
Archaeoindris could have still climbed branches
(albeit the thicker
ones that could support its weight) as it foraged for food. This is
where the sloth comparison comes from, as rather than being fast and
agile like the more lightly built indriid lemurs we know today,
Archaeoindris would have probably been slower and
more sluggish to
reduce energy expenditure as it foraged.
Other
genera of sloth lemur include Babakotia,
Mesopropithecus
and
Palaeopropithecus.
Further reading
- The taxonomic attributions of giant subfossil lemur bones from
Ampasambazimba: Archaeoindris and Lemuridotherium.
- Journal of Human
Evolution 17 (4), p379-391 - M. Vuillaume-Randriamanantena - 1988.
- The extinct sloth lemurs of Madagascar. - Evolutionary Anthropology:
Issues, News, and Reviews 12 (6): 252–263. - L. R. Godfrey & W.
L. Jungers - 2003.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random favourites
 |
 |
 |
 |