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Archaeoindris fontoynontii is an extinct giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar, comparable in size to a male gorilla.It belonged to a family of extinct lemurs known as "sloth lemurs" (Palaeopropithecidae) and, because of its extremely large size, it has been compared to the ground sloths that once roamed North and South America.
Archaeolemur is an extinct genus of subfossil lemurs known from the Quaternary of Madagascar. [3] Archaeolemur is one of the most common and well-known of the extinct giant lemurs as hundreds of its bones have been discovered in fossil deposits across the island.
Archaeoindris fontoynontii is an extinct, giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar, comparable in size to a male gorilla.It belonged to a family of extinct lemurs known as "sloth lemurs" (Palaeopropithecidae), and because of its extremely large size, it has been compared to the extinct ground sloths of North and South America.
Ranging in size from the 30 g (1.1 oz) Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, the world's smallest primate, [48] to the extinct 160–200 kg (350–440 lb) Archaeoindris fontoynonti, [49] lemurs evolved diverse forms of locomotion, varying levels of social complexity, and unique adaptations to the local climate.
There were three distinct families of giant lemur, including the Palaeopropithecidae (sloth lemurs), Megaladapidae (koala lemurs), and Archaeolemuridae (monkey lemurs). Two other types were more closely related and similar in appearance to living lemurs: the giant aye-aye and Pachylemur, a genus of "giant ruffed lemurs". Subfossil remains were ...
Ranging in size from the 30 g (1.1 oz) Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, probably the world's smallest primate, [2] to the extinct 160–200 kg (350–440 lb) Archaeoindris fontoynonti, the largest known prosimian, [3] [4] [5] lemurs evolved diverse forms of locomotion, varying levels of social complexity, and unique adaptations to the local climate.
In 1953, William Charles Osman Hill noted that the skull of both P. insignis and P. jullyi (then called Lemur insignis and L. jullyi) resembled that of ruffed lemurs more so than the rest of the lemurs classified in the genus Lemur at that time. [5] Because of the similarities, Pachylemur is sometimes referred to as a giant ruffed lemur. [6]
Coquerel's giant mouse lemur. M. coquereli Grandidier, 1867: Western Madagascar: Size: 23–27 cm (9–11 in) long, plus 31–32 cm (12–13 in) tail [70] Habitat: Forest [71] Diet: Fruit, flowers, and invertebrates, as well as small vertebrates [70] EN Unknown [71] Northern giant mouse lemur. M. zaza Kappeler & Roos, 2005: Northern Madagascar