Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis

[sordes]

I know there is already a thread about extinct malagasy aardvarks (although they were no longer recognized as actual aardvarks), but as there were two different species of bibymalagasia, I think there could be also two threads for them.

[another specialist]

anotherspecialist said:

Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis (literally "Near Digging Foot of Madagascar") is one of the most bizarre and mysterious mammals known. Dubbed the "bibymalagasy", it was discovered from skeletal remains in Madagascar. Initially it was thought to be a species of aardvark that found its way to Madagascar millions of years ago. Ross MacPhee studied all known specimens of Plesiorycteropus, and found that, although it showed a number of similarities to aardvarks, other anatomical characters appeared to link it to a range of different mammal groups, including 'ungulates' and 'insectivores'. Given this uncertainty surrounding its evolutionary relationships, in 1994 he published a paper classifying Plesiorycteropus in its own, entirely extinct order of mammals, Bibymalagasia. The bibymalagasy grew to the size of a small dog and possibly fed on ants and termites. Discovered from remains in various regions of Madagascar, its record faded around 1,000 years ago. Around that time, many species of large birds, tortoises, and mammals (including the giant lemurs and indigenous pygmy hippopotami) perished - possibly at the hands of human activity.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesiorycteropus

[ktdykes]

I've been revising the entry on my internet directory for this critter, but can't upload the results of that yet. It's being delayed by a pending publication on an Upper Cretaceous eutherian (nearly = placental) from Saskatchewan. I don't want to upload that until after it's actually been published. Still...

Species: Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis Filhol, 1895
Aka: Majoria; Myoryctes rapeto; Hypogeomys boulei Grandidier, 1912 (partly)
Place: near Belo
Country: Madagascar
Age: Recent
Remarks: A burrower the size of a small dog, this creature probably had a taste for ants, etc. The wildlife of the island suffered a fair few extinctions about a thousand years ago. This genus was one of the victims.

Holotype
MNHNP 328 is a partial skull of probably a juvenile or subadult discovered by M. Grevé in November, 1894 or possibly earlier. It struts its stuff in the collection of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. The specific might just have some geographical connection, but this is merely my guess. The specimen was collected somewhere near Belo in the middle of the west coast.

References: Filhol H (1895), Observations concernant les mammiferes contemporains des Aepyornis a Madagascar, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat., Paris, 1, p.12-14.

Forsyth Major, CI (1908), A giant sub-fossil rat from Madagascar, [/i][/i]Myoryctes rapeto, Geol. Mag. (series 5), 5, p.97-98.

Grandidier, G (1912), Un nouvelle espece subfossile d'Hypogeomys, 1'H. Boulei, G. G. Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat., Paris, 18, p.10-11.

[another specialist]

FAMILY PLESIORYCTEROPIDAE PATTERSON, 1975
Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 147: 216

SUBFAMILY PLESIORYCTEROPODINAE PATTERSON, 1975
Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 147: 216

Plesiorycteropus Filhol, 1895. Bull. Mus.
Natl. Hist. Nat. (Paris) 1: 14

TYPE SPECIES:
Plesiorycteropus madagascarensis Filhol, 1895.

SYNONYMS:
Majoria Thomas 1915,
Hypogeomys [partim] Grandidier 1912.

Plesiorycteropus germainepetterae MacPhee 1994. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 220: 32

TYPE LOCALITY:
Central Madagascar, exact locality unknown. Probably Ampasambazimba (see MacPhee, 1994).

DISTRIBUTION:
Madagascar.

Plesiorycteropus madagascarensis Filhol, 1895. Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. (Paris) 1: 14

TYPE LOCALITY:
Belo (Madagascar).

DISTRIBUTION:
Madagascar.

COMMENTS: For a long time this species was included in the Tubulidentata. MacPhee (1987, 1989) initially suggested that it belonged in the Insectivora, but later MacPhee (1994) erected a new order for it. Specimens of Plesiorycteropus recorded by Burney et al. (1997) comes from a context radiometrically dated as more recent that AD 1440.

digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/3233/1/N3248.pdf

[another specialist]

Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis
Filhol, 1895
HOLOTYPE: MNHNP 328 (fig. 2), a partial
cranium with several cranial sutures still open
(probably subadult or young adult).
DISCOVERER AND DATE OF DISCOVERY: M.
Greve, in or before November, 1894 (cf. A.
Grandidier, 1895).
TYPE LOCALITY AND AGE: Unlocated Quaternary
site in "grey alluvial sands" (Milne-
Edwards and A. Grandidier, 1895) near Belo,
central west coast of Madagascar.

SxNoNYMs: Majoria (= Myoryctes) rapeto
Thomas (1915), new synonymy; "Hypogeomys"
boulei G. Grandidier (1912).
REFERRED SPECIMENS: Partial associated
skeleton from Ambolisatra, southwestern
coast of Madagascar (MNHNP 534, calvarium;
MNHNP 540-543, lumbar vertebrae;
MNHNP 1714-1718, caudal vertebrae; unlocated
pelvic girdle); NHMLP M 7085,
nearly complete innominate from Antsirabe,
central Madagascar (holotype of Majoria rapeto);
MNHNA 1987.038, nearly complete
femur from Ampasambazimba, central Madagascar
(holotype of "Hypogeomys" boulei);
and USNMP 474080, skull lacking facial region,
many sutures open.
ETYMOLOGY: madagascariensis, "of Madagascar."
DIAGNOSIS: Differs from smaller P. germainepetterae
n. sp. (q.v.) in the following
combination oftraits: (1) braincase larger and
less globose; (2) orbital constriction less pronounced;
(3) temporal lines higher; (4) pseudoglenoid
process less prominent; (5) small
?vascular foramen absent adjacent to foramen
ovale; (6) rostral and caudal tympanic
processes of petrosal more developed; (7)
temporal tubercle faint; (8) dorsal profile of
nuchal crest straight; and (9) third trochanter
of femur larger.
DISCUSSION: Measurements ofholotypes of
Majoria rapeto and Hypogeomys boulei (table
12) place them in the upper end of ranges
observed for Plesiorycteropus, indicating that
these specimens represent P. madagascariensis.

digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/828

[another specialist]

lots of more info and images of remains can be seen on this PDF file

digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/828

[another specialist]

anotherspecialist said:

lots of info and images of remains can be seen on this PDF file

Great PDF file

digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/828

direct link to file

digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/828/1/B220a01.pdf

[surroundx]

twilightbeasts.wordpress.com/2015/02/25/when-is-an-aardvark-not-an-aardvark-when-its-from-madgascar/

[Sebbe]

The macroevolutionary impact of recent and imminent mammal extinctions on Madagascar.

Many of Madagascar’s unique species are threatened with extinction. However, the severity of recent and potential extinctions in a global evolutionary context is unquantified. Here, we compile a phylogenetic dataset for the complete non-marine mammalian biota of Madagascar and estimate natural rates of extinction, colonization, and speciation. We measure how long it would take to restore Madagascar’s mammalian biodiversity under these rates, the “evolutionary return time” (ERT). At the time of human arrival there were approximately 250 species of mammals on Madagascar, resulting from 33 colonisation events (28 by bats), but at least 30 of these species have gone extinct since then. We show that the loss of currently threatened species would have a much deeper long-term impact than all the extinctions since human arrival. A return from current to pre-human diversity would take 1.6 million years (Myr) for bats, and 2.9 Myr for non-volant mammals. However, if species currently classified as threatened go extinct, the ERT rises to 2.9 Myr for bats and 23 Myr for non-volant mammals. Our results suggest that an extinction wave with deep evolutionary impact is imminent on Madagascar unless immediate conservation actions are taken.

www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35215-3