List of lemur species
Extinct species
Table:
Scientific name

Common name

Family

Estimated size

Extinction date

References

Archaeoindris fontoynonti

Sloth lemurs

Palaeopropithecidae

160–200 kg (350–440 lb)

350 BCE

[261][262][263]

Archaeolemur edwardsi

Monkey lemurs (or baboon lemurs)

Archaeolemuridae

15–25 kg (33–55 lb)

1047–1280 CE

[264][265]

Archaeolemur majori

Monkey lemurs (or baboon lemurs)

Archaeolemuridae

15–25 kg (33–55 lb)

1047–1280 CE

[264][265]

Babakotia radofilai

Sloth lemurs

Palaeopropithecidae

16–20 kg (35–44 lb)

3050 BCE[c]

[261][262]

Daubentonia robusta

Giant aye-aye

Daubentoniidae

14 kg (31 lb)

891–1027 CE

[266][267]

Hadropithecus stenognathus

Monkey lemurs (or baboon lemurs)

Archaeolemuridae

27–35 kg (60–77 lb)

444–772 CE

[264][265]

Megaladapis edwardsi

Koala lemurs

Megaladapidae

40–80 kg (88–176 lb)

1280–1420 CE

[268][269]

Megaladapis grandidieri

Koala lemurs

Megaladapidae

40–80 kg (88–176 lb)

1280–1420 CE

[268][269]

Megaladapis madagascariensis

Koala lemurs

Megaladapidae

40–80 kg (88–176 lb)

1280–1420 CE

[268][269]

Mesopropithecus dolichobrachion

Sloth lemurs

Palaeopropithecidae

10–14 kg (22–31 lb)

245–429 CE

[261][262]

Mesopropithecus globiceps

Sloth lemurs

Palaeopropithecidae

10–14 kg (22–31 lb)

245–429 CE

[261][262]

Mesopropithecus pithecoides

Sloth lemurs

Palaeopropithecidae

10–14 kg (22–31 lb)

245–429 CE

[261][262]

Pachylemur insignis

Pachylemur

Lemuridae

11.5 kg (25 lb)

680–960 BCE

[270]

Pachylemur jullyi

Pachylemur

Lemuridae

13 kg (29 lb)

Holocene

[270]

Palaeopropithecus ingens

Sloth lemurs

Palaeopropithecidae

25–50 kg (55–110 lb)

1300–1620 CE

[261][262]

Palaeopropithecus kelyus

Sloth lemurs

Palaeopropithecidae

35 kg (77 lb)

Late Quaternary

[6]

Palaeopropithecus maximus

Sloth lemurs

Palaeopropithecidae

25–50 kg (55–110 lb)

1300–1620 CE

[261][262]

Consulting the provided table together with the textual context below.

Respond to the question below: What is the common name of the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Avoid adding external knowledge.

Archaeoindris fontoynontii is an extinct giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar , comparable in size to a male gorilla . It belonged to a family of extinct lemurs known as sloth lemurs ( Palaeopropithecidae ) , and because of its extremely large size , it has been compared to the ground sloths that once roamed North and South America . It was most closely related to Palaeopropithecus , the second largest type of sloth lemur . Along with the other sloth lemurs , Archaeoindris was related to the living indri , sifakas , and woolly lemurs , as well as the recently extinct monkey lemurs ( Archaeolemuridae ) . The genus , Archaeoindris , translates to ancient indri-like lemur , even though it probably became extinct recently , around 350 BCE . Archaeoindris was first described by Herbert F. Standing in 1909 based on subfossil fragmentary jaws , although Charles Lamberton later discovered a complete skull . Only six bones from the lower skeleton have been found , and excavations in the 1980s offered no leads for new finds . Its remains have been found at only one location : Ampasambazimba , a subfossil site in central Madagascar . Following its initial discovery , some subfossil remains of Megaladapis grandidieri ( a type of extinct koala lemur ) were mistakenly associated with Archaeoindris , while smaller leg bones from a juvenile and a massive adult leg bone were erroneously assumed to belong to two separate species . These errors were gradually corrected between the 1930s and 1980s . The skeleton of Archaeoindris was massive and robust , and shared many traits with that of Palaeopropithecus . The arms were longer than the legs , but no hand or foot bones have been found for comparison with the other sloth lemurs .
The sloth lemurs ( Palaeopropithecidae ) comprise an extinct clade of lemurs that includes four genera . The common name can be misleading , as members of Palaeopropithecidae were not closely related to sloths . This clade has been dubbed the sloth lemurs because of remarkable postcranial convergences with South American sloths . Despite postcranial similarities , the hands and feet show significant differences . Sloths possess long , curved claws , while sloth lemurs have short , flat nails on their distal phalanges like most primates .
Archaeolemur is an extinct genus of lemurs that includes two species , Archaeolemur edwardsi and A. majori . The genus was widespread throughout Madagascar through much of the Holocene epoch , and its remains are often abundant at fossil sites across the island . Jungers estimated their body weight to be between 15 and 35 kg . The wide geographical and temporal range of the genus may be attributed its generalist nature . Archaeolemur was a semiterrestrial quadruped that spent much of its time on the ground , although it was also well suited to arboreal locomotion . Despite its tendency for a mostly terrestrial lifestyle , it was not as well suited for cursorial locomotion as macaques or baboons , the extant primates the genus is often compared to . When compared to highly terrestrial baboons , Archaeolemur had shorter , more robust limbs , smaller digits , and a wider trunk . Its diet is thought to have encompassed a wide range of foods including seeds and savanna plants . The incisors of Archaeolemur were enlarged and adapted to remove hard shells and rinds from seeds and fruit . The eurytopic adaptation of Archaeolemur may explain why it was one of the last of the subfossil lemurs to have gone extinct . It disappeared from Madagascar around 1047-1280 CE .
The monkey lemurs or baboon lemurs ( Archaeolemuridae ) are a recently extinct family of lemurs known from skeletal remains from sites on Madagascar dated to 1000 to 3000 years ago . The monkey lemur family is divided into two genera , Hadropithecus and Archaeolemur , and three species .
Babakotia is an extinct genus of medium-sized lemur , or strepsirrhine primate , from Madagascar that contains a single species , Babakotia radofilai . Together with Palaeopropithecus , Archaeoindris , and Mesopropithecus , it forms the family Palaeopropithecidae , commonly known as the sloth lemurs . The name Babakotia comes from the Malagasy name for the indri , babakoto , to which it and all other sloth lemurs are closely related . Due to its mix of morphological traits that show intermediate stages between the slow-moving smaller sloth lemurs and the suspensory large sloth lemurs , it has helped determine the relationship between both groups and the closely related and extinct monkey lemurs . Babakotia radofilai and all other sloth lemurs share many traits with living sloths , demonstrating convergent evolution . It had long forearms , curved digits , and highly mobile hip and ankle joints . Its skull was more heavily built than that of indriids , but not as much as in the larger sloth lemurs . Its dentition is similar to that of all other indriids and sloth lemurs . It lived in the northern part of Madagascar and shared its range with at least two other sloth lemur species , Palaeopropithecus ingens and Mesopropithecus dolichobrachion . Babakotia radofilai was primarily a leaf-eater ( folivore ) , though it also ate fruit and hard seeds . It is known only from subfossil remains and may have died out shortly after the arrival of humans on the island , but not enough radiocarbon dating has been done with this species to know for certain .
The giant aye-aye ( Daubentonia robusta ) is an extinct relative of the aye-aye , the only other species in the genus Daubentonia . It lived in Madagascar , appears to have disappeared less than 1,000 years ago , is entirely unknown in life , and is only known from subfossil remains . As of 2004 giant aye-aye remains consisted of 4 incisors , a tibia , and postcranial material . Subfossils of this species have been found in the southern and southeastern portion of Madagascar , outside the range of extant aye-aye . Giant aye-ayes are believed to be very similar morphologically to the aye-aye , but 2 to 2.5 times larger , based upon jaw and incisor measurements .
The aye-aye ( Daubentonia madagascariensis ) is a long-fingered lemur , a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger . It is the world 's largest nocturnal primate . It is characterized by its unusual method of finding food : it taps on trees to find grubs , then gnaws holes in the wood using its forward-slanting incisors to create a small hole in which it inserts its narrow middle finger to pull the grubs out . This foraging method is called percussive foraging , and takes up 5-41% of foraging time . The only other animal species known to find food in this way is the striped possum . From an ecological point of view , the aye-aye fills the niche of a woodpecker , as it is capable of penetrating wood to extract the invertebrates within . The aye-aye is the only extant member of the genus Daubentonia and family Daubentoniidae . It is currently classified as Endangered by the IUCN ; and a second species , Daubentonia robusta , appears to have become extinct at some point within the last 1000 years .
Hadropithecus is a medium-sized , extinct genus of lemur , or strepsirrhine primate , from Madagascar that includes a single species , Hadropithecus stenognathus . Due to its rarity and lack of sufficient skeletal remains , it is one of the least understood of the extinct lemurs . Both it and Archaeolemur are collectively known as monkey lemurs or baboon lemurs due to body plans and dentition that suggest a terrestrial lifestyle and a diet similar to that of modern baboons . Hadropithecus had extended molars and a short , powerful jaw , suggesting that it was both a grazer and a seed predator . The monkey lemurs are considered to be most closely related to the living indriids and the recently extinct sloth lemurs , although recent finds had caused some dispute over a possible closer relation to living lemurids . Genetic tests , however , have reaffirmed the previously presumed relationship . Hadropithecus lived in open habitat in the Central Plateau , South , and Southwest regions of Madagascar . It is known only from subfossil or recent remains and is considered to be a modern form of Malagasy lemur . It died out around 444-772 CE , shortly after the arrival of humans on the island .
Megaladapis , informally known as koala lemur , is an extinct genus belonging to the family Megaladapidae , consisting of three extinct species of lemurs that once inhabited the island of Madagascar . The largest measured between 1.3 to 1.5 m ( 4 to 5 ft ) in length .
Mesopropithecus is an extinct genus of small to medium-sized lemur , or strepsirrhine primate , from Madagascar that includes three species , M. dolichobrachion , M. globiceps , and M. pithecoides . Together with Palaeopropithecus , Archaeoindris , and Babakotia , it is part of the sloth lemur family ( Palaeopropithecidae ) . Once thought to be an indriid because its skull is similar to that of living sifakas , a recently discovered postcranial skeleton shows Mesopropithecus had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs - a distinctive trait shared by sloth lemurs but not by indriids . However , as it had the shortest forelimbs of all sloth lemurs , it is thought that Mesopropithecus was more quadrupedal and did not use suspension as much as the other sloth lemurs . All three species ate leaves , fruits , and seeds , but the proportions were different . M. pithecoides was primarily a leaf-eater ( folivores ) , but also ate fruit and occasionally seeds . M. globiceps ate a mix of fruits and leaves , as well as a larger quantity of seeds than M. pithecoides . M. dolichobrachion also consumed a mixed diet of fruits and leaves , but analysis of its teeth suggests that it was more of a seed predator than the other two species . Although rare , the three species were widely distributed across the island yet allopatric to each other , with M. dolichobrachion in the north , M. pithecoides in the south and west , and M. globiceps in the center of the island . M. dolichobrachion was the most distinct of the three species due to its longer arms . Mesopropithecus was one of the smallest of the known extinct subfossil lemurs , but was still slightly larger than the largest living lemurs . Known only from subfossil remains , it died out after the arrival of humans on the island , probably due to hunting pressure and habitat destruction .
Pachylemur is an extinct , giant lemur most closely related to the ruffed lemurs of genus Varecia . Two species are known , Pachylemur insignis and Pachylemur jullyi , although there is some doubt as to whether or not they may actually be the same species . Pachylemur is sometimes referred to as the giant ruffed lemur , because although it and the living ruffed lemurs had similar teeth and skeletons , Pachylemur was more robust and as much as three to four times larger . DNA studies have confirmed a sister group relationship between these two types of lemur . Like living ruffed lemurs , Pachylemur specialized in eating fruit , and was therefore an important seed disperser , possibly for tree species with seeds too large for even ruffed lemurs to swallow . In the spiny thickets of southwestern Madagascar , they were also likely to have dispersed seeds evolved to attach to fur and be carried away . Unlike ruffed lemurs , the fore- and hindlimbs of Pachylemur were nearly the same length , and therefore it was likely to be a slow , deliberate climber . However , both used hindlimb suspension to reach fruit on small branches below them . Like other lemurs , Pachylemur was only found on the island of Madagascar , and its subfossil remains have been found primarily at sites in the central and southwestern parts of the island . Fragmentary and indeterminate remains have also been found in northern Madagascar . Pachylemur once lived in diverse lemur communities within its range , but in many of these locations , 20% or fewer of the original lemur species remain . Pachylemur went into decline following the arrival of humans in Madagascar around 350 BCE .
Lemuridae is a family of strepsirrhine primates native to Madagascar , and the Comoros Islands . They are represented by the Lemuriformes in Madagascar with one of the highest concentration of the lemurs . One of five families commonly known as lemurs . These animals were once thought to be the evolutionary predecessors of monkeys and apes , but this is no longer considered correct .
Palaeopropithecus was one of three recently extinct genera of sloth lemur that was found on Madagascar , and were closely related to living lemur species found there today . There were three known species , Palaeopropithecus ingens , P. maximus , and P. kelyus . New radiocarbon dates indicate that these large sloth lemurs may have still been living around 1500 CE . It is thought that Palaeopropithecus ingens is mentioned in Malagasy legends as the tretretretre or tratratratra .