![]() ![]() On the ground, they move like all indrids, with bipedal, sideways hopping movements of the hind legs, holding their fore limbs up for balance. They are skillful climbers and powerful jumpers, able to make leaps up to 10 m (32.8 ft) from one tree to the next. Sifakas move by vertical clinging and leaping, meaning they maintain an upright position leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk and moving along branches. As with all lemurs, the sifaka has special adaptations for grooming, including a toilet-claw on its second toe and a toothcomb. Their round, hairless face is always black. Their fur is long and silky, with coloration varying by species from yellowish-white to blackish-brown. Their tail is just as long as their body, which differentiates them from the Indri. Sifakas are medium-sized indriids with a head and body length of 40 to 55 cm (16 to 22 in) and a weight of 3 to 6 kg (6.6 to 13.2 lb). All species of sifakas are threatened, ranging from endangered to critically endangered. Like all lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar. The name of their family is an onomatopoeia of their characteristic "shi-fak" alarm call. Comparison of metric data of lemur prey animals reveals niche partitioning among these predators.A sifaka ( / s ɪ ˈ f ɑː k ə/ Malagasy pronunciation: ⓘ) is a lemur of the genus Propithecus from the family Indriidae within the order Primates. Crocodiles targeted adult, large-bodied animals, especially Palaeopropithecus and Megaladapis.Īvian, carnivoran, and crocodylian predation is well represented in the subfossil record and taphonomic study of subfossil assemblages contributes significantly to our knowledge of predator-primate dynamics of the Quaternary of Madagascar. Crocodylian predation is the most prevalent of all, and most specimens with crocodile predation were also digested. Like mammalian carnivorans, raptors preferred the smaller extinct lemur genera ( Pachylemur, Mesopropithecus and Archaeolemur). I conclude that social hunting likely facilitated the targeting of very large lemurs by mammalian carnivorans. ![]() spelea also preyed on animals as large as Megaladapis (up to 85 kg Jungers et al. Cryptoprocta spelea preyed preferentially on Pachylemur and Mesopropithecus, which were among the smallest of the giant extinct lemurs, although there is evidence that C. I summarize taphonomic signatures of each predator type and evaluate the degree of taphonomic interference in the detection of predator modification. I review previous research on the extinct lemurs and their potential predators examining their morphology, inferred behavior, and geographic and temporal distributions. I also provide preliminary comparisons of predator-prey relationships in Madagascar and other primate communities throughout the world. These data are interpreted in relation to (1) predator and prey behavior and morphology (2) taphonomic inferences that can be drawn (3) variation in predator-prey interactions in different environments (4) temporal changes in predator-prey relationships and (5) direct and indirect consequences of predator-prey interactions. I examined 1141 specimens (crania, mandibles, humeri and femora) representing 14 lemur taxa. Here I examine the bones of the extinct lemurs at six subfossil localities (Ampasambazimba, Ankarana, Grotte d’Ankazoabo, Beloha Anavoha, Manombo Toliara, and Tsirave) for evidence of and also collected metric data on these bones. This is the first research to systematically study predator-prey relationships among these extinct animals. Sharing the landscape with the lemurs, were several relatively large now-extinct predators, including three raptors (two species of Aquila and Stephanoaetus mahery), a euplerid ( Cryptoprocta spelea), and a crocodile ( Voay robustus). Madagascar’s Quaternary predator-primate guild included seventeen species of relatively large extinct lemurs. ![]()
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