Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 23, 2022
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Archaeoindris fontoynontii is a gorilla-sized extinct giant lemur, the largest primate known from Madagascar. This sloth lemur was related to the extinct Palaeopropithecus and became extinct around 350 BCE. It was first described by Herbert F. Standing in 1909 based on subfossil jaw fragments, although a complete skull was later found. Only six bones from the lower skeleton have been located. The skeleton was massive and the arms were longer than the legs, but no hand or foot bones are known. Size estimates range as high as 244.1 kilograms (538.1 pounds), but regression analyses predict a mass of 160 kg (350 lb). Misattributions and limited remains have resulted in differing opinions about how this lemur moved. Its skeleton suggests it was a climber that also travelled on the ground. Its diet was mostly leaves, and its former habitat, a mix of woodlands and savanna, is now mainly grassland. When humans arrived on Madagascar, it was still extant but vulnerable to hunting and habitat loss. (Full article...)