Megaladapis

Taxobox | name = "Megaladapis"
status = EX
extinct = "c."1500


regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Primates
familia = Lepilemuridae
genus = "Megaladapis" (extinct)
genus_authority = Forsyth Major, 1894
subdivision_ranks = Paleospecies
subdivision = Subgenus "Peloriadapis"
*"M. edwardsi"Subgenus "Megaladapis
*"M. madagascariensis"
*"M. grandidieri"

"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 [ [http://www.zoobooks.com/rainforest/extinct.html] ] . Bernard Heuvelmans proposed instead that "Megaladapis" was the basis for the "tokandia" [ [http://www.kryptozoologie-online.de/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=289&view=previous&sid=9d5ef3913439a8db9f5f8e7d8cfc7ec0] de icon] . 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.

Other extinct giant lemurs

*"Archaeoindris"
*"Archaeolemur"
*"Hadropithecus"
*"Pachylemur"
*"Palaeopropithecus"

References

External links

* [http://members.tripod.com/cacajao/megaladapis_edwardsi.html Megaladapis Edwardsi: Scientific information]
* [http://www.amnh.org/science/biodiversity/extinction/Resources/Bestiary/Primates.html AMNH Bestiary]
* [http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/haaramo/Metazoa/Deuterostoma/Chordata/Synapsida/Eutheria/Primates/Strepsirrhini/Megaladapidae.htm Mikko's Phylogeny Archive]