Plesiorycteropus
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Plesiorycteropus Temporal range: Holocene |
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| (1) Right innominate (pelvic bone) of Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis (British Museum number M 7085, holotype of Myoryctes rapeto Forsyth Major, 1908) and (2) right innominate of a European water vole (Arvicola amphibius), for comparison | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Afrosoricida |
| Family: |
Plesiorycteropodidae Patterson 1975 |
| Genus: |
Plesiorycteropus Filhol, 1895 |
| Species | |
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| Sites where Plesiorycteropus has been found. Blue: P. madagascariensis and P. germainepetterae; green: P. madagascariensis; red: Plesiorycteropus, species uncertain. | |
| Synonyms | |
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Plesiorycteropus, also known as the bibymalagasy or Malagasy aardvark, is a recently extinct eutherian mammalian genus from Madagascar. Upon its description in 1895, it was classified with the aardvark, but more recent studies have found little evidence to link it to aardvarks or any other order of mammals. Molecular evidence instead suggests that it is related to the tenrecs. Two species are currently recognized, the larger P. madagascariensis and the smaller P. germainepetterae. They probably overlapped in distribution, as subfossil remains of both species have been found in the same site.
Knowledge of the skeletal anatomy is limited, as only limb and partial pelvis and skull bones have been recovered to date. Plesiorycteropus was probably a digging animal that fed on insects such as termites and ants. It also shows adaptations for climbing and sitting. Estimates of its mass range from 6 to 18 kilograms (13 to 40 lb). When and why it became extinct remains unknown. One bone has been radiocarbon dated to 200 BCE; forest destruction by humans may have contributed to its extinction.
French naturalist Henri Filhol first described Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis in 1895 on the basis of a partial skull found at the cave of Belo. His description was vague even by 19th-century standards, but he placed the animal close to the aardvark (Orycteropus). The generic name combines Ancient Greek plesio- "near" with Orycteropus, the genus of the aardvark, and the specific name refers to Madagascar. Charles Lamberton, who had access to a larger sample for his 1946 review of the genus, noted substantial variation, but did not attempt to differentiate multiple species. In 1994, Ross MacPhee again reviewed Plesiorycteropus and was able to separate two species, the larger P. madagascariensis and a new, smaller species that he named Plesiorycteropus germainepetterae after scientist Germaine Petter. The two species differ in a number of morphological characters in addition to size.
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