Babakotia
Name: Babakotia
(After the Malagasy word for the Indri - babakoto, a lemur
living in Madagascar today).
Phonetic: Ba-ba-ko-te-ah.
Named By: Godfrey et al. - 1990.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Primates,
Strepsirrhini, Lemuriformes, Palaeopropithecidae.
Species: B. radofilai (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Weight estimated to between 16 and 20
kilograms.
Known locations: Madagascar, Ankarana Massif,
Antsiroandoha Cave.
Time period: Holocene, going extinct at around
3000BP. *note, Babakotia likely existed into the Pleistocene as
well, but details upon a more exact temporal range, including a
more defined extinction date are currently sketchy at best. Further
study is required at the time of writing.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skeleton and
skull as well as additional partial remains from other individuals.
All known remains are sub fossils.
Babakotia was what is more commonly known as a sloth lemur. This is because unlike the lemurs that we know today, Babakotia had body proportions more like those of a sloth, something which has led to speculation that this lemur was also sloth like in its behaviour. The term sloth lemur is a descriptive title that is also shared by others such as Archaeoindris, Mesopropithecus and Palaeopropithecus, all from Madagascar since all lemurs are indigenous to this location.
Babakotia
is not as big as other sloth lemurs it is related to, yet it is still
one of the more important ones since it physiology is closer to that of
an in between phase between small sloth lemurs and the large
sloth lemurs. The feet of Babakotia were reduced
in size and the hip
and ankle joints were well enough developed to make Babakotia
a capable
climber, although it almost certainly could jump from branch to
branch like smaller modern lemurs. Babakotia is
usually interpreted
as being a folivore, a herbivore that specialises in the eating of
leaves, although it is probable that Babakotia
also ate fruit and
seeds when available. Like with modern indriid lemurs, the
permanent teeth developed early, an adaptation that is thought to
increase the chances of juvenile survivability in the dry seasons.
There
is some confusion regarding the dental formula of Babakotia
since one
of the anterior teeth in the lower jaw might actually be an incisor or
a canine. This results in the dental formula of the lower jaw being
either 1.1.2.3 (one incisor, one canine, two premolars, three
molars) or 2.0.2.3 (two incisors, no canines, two premolars,
three molars). However when compared with the dental formula for
the upper jaw of 2.1.2.3 (two incisors, one canine, two
premolars, three molars) the total tooth count of Babakotia
ends up
being thirty regardless of which lower jaw dental formula is correct.
Fossil
evidence tells us that Babakotia lived across the
most northern reaches
of Madagascar alongside other related species of sloth lemur,
specifically Palaeopropithecus maximus and Mesopropithecus
dolichobrachion. All of the known remains of Babakotia
are currently
classed as sub fossils. What this means is that when they were
discovered, the remains had not yet gone through a complete
fossilisation process and are of a different consistency than older
fossils that have gone through a more complete process. One part of
the reason why these bones have not been completely fossilised is
that they are only a few thousand years old, and the fossilisation of
true fossils takes much longer to complete. Sub fossils of extinct
animals are actually quite well known from Madagascar, with another
example being the crocodile Voay.
Babakotia
is thought to have shared the same fate as the other sloth lemurs and
other large forms such as Megaladapis
(a.k.a. the Koala lemur).
Ultimately these lemurs seem to have suffered the combined effects of
hunting and habitat loss at the hands of the first human settlers upon
Madagascar.
Further reading
- A new fossil lemur (Babakotia, Primates) from northern Madagascar. -
Comptes Rendus de l'Acad�mie des Sciences. 2. 81: 81–87. - L. R.
Godfrey, E. L. Simons, P. J. Chatrath & Rakotosamimanana -
1990.
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