Babakotia
| Babakotia | ||||||||||||
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Babakotia radofilai |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Babakotia | ||||||||||||
| Godfrey , Simons , Chatrath & Rakotosamimanana , 1990 |
Babakotia is an extinct genus of primates belonging to the Palaeopropithecinae group . She lived on the island of Madagascar until around 500 to 1000 years ago. The scientific generic name is derived from Babakoto, the native name of the Indri . The only species described is Babakotia radofilai .
Babakotia had very elongated arms and large hands and feet, but the legs were short. As with all Palaeopropithecinae, the anatomical features indicate a suspensory (hanging down on the trees) way of life similar to the sloths . The strong hands and feet should have enabled a secure grip and climbing on thick branches. The structure of the skull resembled that of the Indris, but was significantly larger. The elongated upper premolars were noticeable . The weight of the animals is estimated at around 15 to 20 kilograms.
The way of life and locomotion of Babakotia was probably also characterized by slow, sedate movements. The diet probably consisted mainly of leaves.
Subfossil remains of Babakotia radofilai were only found in caves in the far north of Madagascar in the early 1990s.
The extinction of this species is likely to be causally related to the settlement of Madagascar by humans, which began around 1500 years ago. Subsequently, a number of primate species have disappeared, including the giant lemur . The reasons for this were hunting and habitat destruction, possibly coupled with climatic changes.
literature
- Thomas Geissmann : Comparative Primatology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 2002, ISBN 3-540-43645-6 .
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
