Giant fossa

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Giant fossa
Systematics
Order : Predators (Carnivora)
Subordination : Feline (Feliformia)
Family : Malagasy carnivores (Eupleridae)
Subfamily : Euplerinae
Genre : Cryptoprocta
Type : Giant fossa
Scientific name
Cryptoprocta spelea
Grandidier , 1902

The giant fossa ( Cryptoprocta spelea ; Malagasy fosa mainty 'black fossa' ) is an extinct species of predator that was endemic to Madagascar . Its existence as a separate species has long been controversial, but it is now considered certain that the giant fossa, together with the fossa and possibly a third species, Cryptoprocta antamba , forms the genus Cryptoprocta .

Giant fossas could probably be up to 2 m long and weigh about 17 kg. Their main food was probably also extinct giant lemurs today .

The exact period of extinction of the giant fossas is unknown. Fossil finds in northwest Madagascar suggest that the giant fossa was still after 6000 BC. And probably died out before 500 AD. Therefore, the person who only reached the island at this time probably played no role. However, in 1658 Étienne de Flacourt still described an «  Antamba , c'est une best grande comme un grand chien qui a la teste ronde, & au rapport des Negres, elle a la ressemblance d'un Leopart, elle deuore les hommes & les veaux. Elle est rare & ne demeure que dans les lieux des montagnes les moins frequentez.  "( Étienne de Flacourt , German:" Antamba , a predator like a big dog with a round snout, which according to reports from the inhabitants resembles a leopard and eats people like cattle. This animal is very rare and can only be found in the most isolated mountain regions. “) The Antamba could have been a giant fossa.

literature

  • Steven M. Goodman, Rodin M. Rasoloarison, Jörg U. Ganzhorn: On the specific identification of subfossil Cryptoprocta (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Madagascar . In: Zoosystema . tape 26 , no. 1 , 2004, p. 129-143 ( mnhn.fr [PDF]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gary P. Burness, Jared Diamond , Timothy Flannery: Dinosaurs, Dragons, and Dwarfs: The Evolution of Maximal Body Size. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 98, No. 25, 2001, pp. 14518-14523, here p. 14519.
  2. ↑ David A. Burney, Helen F. James, Frederick V. Grady, Jean-Gervais Rafamantanantsoa, ​​Ramilisonina, Henry T. Wright, James B. Cowart: Environmental Change, Extinction, and Human Activity: Evidence from Caves in NW Madagascar. In: Journal of Biogeography. 24, No. 6, 1997, pp. 755-767, pp. 764 f.
  3. ↑ L'Histoire de le Grande Île de Madagascar . N. Oudot, Troyes 1658, pp. 154 ( gallica.bnf.fr [PDF]).
  4. ↑ EDGE: Giant Fossa. edgeofexistence.org, last accessed August 10, 2007.

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