Palaeopropithecus
Name:
Palaeopropithecus
(Ancient before apes).
Phonetic: Pa-lee-o-pif-e-kus.
Named By: Guillaume Grandidier - 1899.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Primates,
Strepsirrhini, Lemuriformes, Palaeopropithecidae.
Species: P. ingens (type),
P.
maximus, P. kelyus.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Accurate measure unavailable.
Known locations: Madagascar.
Time period: Holocene, possibly as recently as
1500CE.
Fossil representation: Several specimens.
Palaeopropithecus
is one of the large sloth lemurs of ancient Madagascar, so noted
because while it was without doubt a lemur, it had considerably
longer limbs and physical adaptations more suited to climbing and
living like a sloth. With this in mind, Palaeopropithecus
probably
spent its time climbing branches to reach leaves, fruit and possibly
seeds that were beyond the reach of ground dwelling herbivores.
Other sloth lemurs known to exist include Archaeoindris,
Mesopropithecus
and Babakotia.
There
is a creature in Malagasy legends called the tretretretre
(alternatively tratratratra) that is thought to have been based upon
observations of now extinct lemurs. The large Megaladapis
is often
credited as being a potential candidate for this legendary creature;
however the facial features of Palaeopropithecus
seem to be a much
closer match for the description of the tretretretre. It is still
worth noting though that palaeontologists almost certainly haven’t
found all the known fauna that lived in ancient Madagascar and that the
actual tretretretre may still be waiting to be found.
Further reading
- Phalangeal curvature and positional behavior in extinct sloth lemurs
(Primates, Palaeopropithecidae). - Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences. 94 (22): 11998–12001. - William L. Jungers, Laurie R.
Godfrey, Elwyn L. Simons & Prithijit S.Chatrath - 1997.
- A new species of giant subfossil lemur from the North-West of
Madagascar (Palaeopropithecus kelyus, Primates). - Comptes Rendus
Palevol, 8 (5): 471–480. - D. Gommery, B. Ramanivosoa, S.
Tombomiadana-Raveloson, H. Randrianantenaina & P. Kerloc’h -
2009.
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