Hadropithecus
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Hadropithecus , living reconstruction |
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| Lorenz von Liburnau , 1899 | ||||||||||||
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Hadropithecus is an extinct genus of primates thatlivedon the island of Madagascar until around 1000 years ago. The only species described is Hadropithecus stenognathus . Together with the also extinct Archaeolemur , it forms the group of Archaeolemurinae .
features
The only species in the genus, Hadropithecus stenognathus , was a relatively large, presumably mostly ground-based primate. He reached an estimated weight of over 20 kilograms, the skull was 13 to 14 centimeters long. The arms and legs were short and strong, the hands and feet were paw-like, the muzzle was noticeably shortened. The molars and posterior premolars formed a pronounced chewing surface, in return the upper incisors and the tooth comb typical of wet-nosed monkeys had receded. Hadropithecus probably lived in the open grasslands and fed on grass and roots, similar to today's Jelada , a way of life that is otherwise hardly known in primates.
die out
Hadropithecus is known from several sites that are dated to an age of 2000 to 1000 years. Their extinction was probably directly related to the human settlement on their home island 1500 years ago. In the course of this settlement, a number of large animals, including primate species such as the giant lemur , probably became extinct due to hunting and the destruction of their habitat.
literature
- TM Ryan, DA Burney, LR Godfrey et al .: A reconstruction of the Vienna skull of Hadropithecus stenognathus. In: PNAS . Volume 105. No. 31, 2008, pp. 10699-10702, doi: 10.1073 / pnas.0805195105
- 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 .
