Mesopropithecus is a genus within the sloth lemur family. It includes three species, M. dolichobrachion, M globiceps, and M. pithecoides. It was once thought to be an indriid because its skull is similar to that of living sifakas.
About Mesopropithecus in brief
Mesopropithecus is a genus within the sloth lemur family. It includes three species, M. dolichobrachion, M globiceps, and M. pithecoides. It was once thought to be an indriid because its skull is similar to that of living sifakas. It died out after the arrival of humans on the island, probably due to hunting pressure and habitat destruction. All three species ate leaves, fruits, and seeds, but the proportions were different. Although rare, the three species were widely distributed across the island yet allopatric to each other. Unlike the indriids, they had elongated and other adaptations for arboreal suspension, linking them most closely to family A. A comparison of these morphological traits suggest that Mesopropithcus was the first divergege within slothmur family within the Lemuriformes.
Three species are recognized within the genus: Daubentoniidae, Megaladoniidae and Lepileemuridae L’Ecoleuridae. It is one of the smallest of the known extinct subfossil lemurs, but was still slightly larger than the largest living lemur. It had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs, a distinctive trait shared by slothLeurs but not by Indriids. It ate a mix of fruits and leaves, as well as a larger quantity of seeds than the other two species. It also consumed a mixed diet of leaves, but analysis of its teeth suggests that it was more of a seed predator than the others.
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This page is based on the article Mesopropithecus published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
