Pachylemur insignis


TAXONOMY:

MORPHOLOGY:
Pachylemur insignis has a limb skeleton which is robust and the fore- and hind- limbs are equal in length (Fleagle, 1999). This species has a dentition similar to the extant Varecia variegata (Fleagle, 1999). This species was probably more terrestrial as compared to Varecia variegata (Nowak, 1999). This species has an average body mass estimated at 10 kilograms (Fleagle, 1999).

RANGE:
Pachylemur insignis lived on the island of Madagascar and occurred during the Pleistocene (Fleagle, 1999).

DIET:
Based on dental morphology this species most likely had a frugivorous diet (Fleagle, 1999).

LOCOMOTION:
Based upon limb morphology this species was an arboreal quadruped (Fleagle, 1999).

REFERENCES:
Fleagle, J.G. 1999. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press: New York.

Nowak, R.M. 1999. Walker's Primates of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.

Last updated: November 13, 2001

[Primate Evolution] [Origins] [Tree-shrews] [Platyrrhine] [Taxonomy] [Distribution] [Links] [Definitions] [The Primata] [Email Me]