I've been fascinated with the fact that giant lemurs used to exist in Madagascar, as Dr. Bob mentioned in class two weeks back. According to a paper I was just reading (link below, but watch out, it's really long!), there were around 16 species of giant lemurs, and they weighed from 11-200 kilograms (440 lbs). For reference, this is less than the weight of a lion, but more than twice that of a sheep. These lemurs, which were in greatest abundance 1000-2000 years ago, ate leaves off trees and shrubs, and moved slowly. (They didn't/couldn't climb trees, as I understand.)
Their extinction was likely due to rapid burning and deforestation of forests that began as of around 1600 years ago, when humans first started inhabiting the island. Annual forest burning is still an important cultural practice today. Along with lemurs, a number of other animals, including pygmy hippos (must have been cute!), Aepyornis (world's largest bird), giant tortoises, a large mammalian predator of lemurs (mountain lion-sized), and two large raptors, which may have eaten giant lemurs, all went extinct, likely around similar times.
Happy reading!
-S
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(1999)110:29+%3C31::AID-AJPA3%3E3.0.CO;2-0/abstract
Happy reading!
-S
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(1999)110:29+%3C31::AID-AJPA3%3E3.0.CO;2-0/abstract
I'm also really interested in the topic of species extinction, Sushmita! I'm looking forward to tackling this from the cultural side to see what traditional biases exist among the Malagasy people against nature. I'll let you know what I find!
ReplyDeleteWhile doing research about fossa I found that their used to be giant fossa as well. They were up to 17kg and 6 meters long. It's amazing how these animals evolve!
ReplyDelete- Joanna Langner