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The largest known subfossil lemur was Archaeoindris fontoynonti, a giant sloth lemur, which weighed more than a modern female gorilla. The extinction of the largest lemurs is often attributed to predation by humans and possibly habitat destruction . [ 2 ]
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.
The extinction of Madagascar's megafauna, including the giant lemurs, was one of the most recent in history, [17] with large lemur species like Palaeopropithecus ingens surviving until approximately 500 years ago [37] and one bone of the extinct Hippopotamus laloumena radiocarbon dated to about 100 years BP. [34]
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. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] It was larger than any extant lemur, with a body mass of approximately 18.2–26.5 kg (40–58 lb), and is commonly reconstructed as the most frugivorous and ...
Since the arrival of humans on the island around 2,000 years ago, over a dozen species of "giant lemurs" larger than living lemur species have become extinct, including the gorilla-sized Archaeoindris. Lemurs share many common basal primate traits, such as divergent digits on their hands and feet, and nails instead of claws (in most species).
In 1948, paleontologist Charles Lamberton proposed a new sub-genus for the giant ruffed lemurs, Pachylemur, which had previously been placed in the genus Lemur. Since the 1960s, it has been considered its own separate genus, although the two extinct species of giant ruffed lemur have sometimes been grouped under Varecia with their closest ...
The indri (/ ˈ ɪ n d r i / ⓘ; Indri indri), also called the babakoto, [8] is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about 64–72 cm (25– 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 in) and a weight of between 6 and 9.5 kg (13 and 21 lb).
Pachylemur is an extinct, giant lemur most closely related to the ruffed lemurs of genus Varecia.Two species are known, Pachylemur insignis and Pachylemur jullyi, although there is some doubt as to whether or not they may actually be the same species.