View source for Plesiorycteropus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals from Madagascar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|fossil_range=[[Holocene]]
|image=Myoryctes innominate.png{{!}}upright
|image_alt=Broken pelvis bone with a distinct spike next to the acetabulum, labeled 1, and much smaller complete pelvis without such a spike, labeled 2.
|image_caption=(1) Right [[innominate bone|innominate]] (pelvic bone) of ''Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis'' ([[British Museum (Natural History)|British Museum]] number M 7085, [[holotype]] of ''Myoryctes rapeto'' Forsyth Major, 1908) and (2) right innominate of a [[European water vole]] (''Arvicola amphibius''), for comparison
|taxon=Plesiorycteropus
|authority=[[Henri Filhol|Filhol]], 1895
|subdivision_ranks=Species
|subdivision=
*''Plesiorycteropus germainepetterae'' <small>MacPhee, 1994</small>
*''Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis'' <small>Filhol, 1895</small>
:[[Synonym (taxonomy)|Synonyms]]:<ref name=McP32/>
:*''Myoryctes rapeto'' <small>[[Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major|Forsyth Major]], 1908</small>
:*''Hypogeomys boulei'' <small>[[Guillaume Grandidier|G. Grandidier]], 1912</small>
:*''Majoria rapeto'': <small>(Forsyth Major 1908) [[Oldfield Thomas|Thomas]], 1915</small>
|range_map=Plesiorycteropus subfossil range map.svg
|range_map_alt=P. sp. was found in five sites in southern Madagascar; P. madagascariensis was found in four sites (one uncertain) in western and central Madagascar; both species were found in a site in central Madagascar.
|range_map_caption=Sites where ''Plesiorycteropus'' has been found. Blue: ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'' and ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae''; green: ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis''; red: ''Plesiorycteropus'', species uncertain.<ref name=McPt1/>
|synonyms_ref=<ref name=McP30/>
|synonyms=
*''Myoryctes'' <small>Forsyth Major, 1908 non Ebert 1863</small>{{#tag:ref|[[Preoccupied name]].<ref name=McP30/>|group=Note}}
*''Majoria'' <small>Thomas, 1915</small>{{#tag:ref|''[[Nomen novum]]'' (replacement name) for ''Myoryctes'' Forsyth Major.<ref name=McP30/>|group=Note}}
}}

'''''Plesiorycteropus''''', also known as the '''bibymalagasy''' or '''Malagasy aardvark''', is a recently extinct [[genus]] of mammals  from [[Madagascar]]. Upon its description in 1895, it was classified with the [[aardvark]], but more recent molecular evidence instead suggests that it is most closely related to the [[tenrec]]s (a group extant on the island). Two species are currently recognized, the larger ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'' and the smaller ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae''. They probably overlapped in distribution, as [[subfossil]] remains of both species have been found in the same site.

Knowledge of the skeletal anatomy is limited, as only limb, partial pelvis, and skull bones have been recovered to date. ''Plesiorycteropus'' was probably a digging animal that fed on insects such as [[termite]]s and [[ant]]s. It also shows adaptations for climbing and sitting. Estimates of its mass range from {{convert|6|to|18|kg|lb}}. When and why it became extinct remains unknown. One bone has been [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to 200&nbsp;BCE; forest destruction by humans may have contributed to its extinction.

==Taxonomy==

===Identification and species===
French naturalist [[Henri Filhol]] first described ''Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis'' in 1895 on the basis of a partial skull found at the cave of [[Belo sur Mer|Belo]]. His description was vague even by 19th-century standards, but he placed the animal close to the [[aardvark]] (''Orycteropus'').<ref name=McP11>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;11</ref> The [[name of a biological genus|generic name]] combines [[Ancient Greek]] ''plesio-'' "near" with ''Orycteropus'', the genus of the aardvark, and the [[specific name (zoology)|specific name]] refers to Madagascar. [[Charles Lamberton]], who had access to a larger sample for his 1946 review of the genus, noted substantial variation, but did not attempt to differentiate multiple species.<ref name=McP30/> In 1994, Ross MacPhee again reviewed ''Plesiorycteropus'' and was able to separate two species, the larger ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'' and a new, smaller species that he named ''Plesiorycteropus germainepetterae'' after scientist Germaine Petter. The two species differ in a number of [[morphology (anatomy)|morphological]] characters in addition to size.<ref name=McP32>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;32</ref>

Remains of ''Plesiorycteropus'' have been misidentified as rodents and primates. [[Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major]] described ''Myoryctes rapeto'' in 1908 as a "giant subfossil rat" on the basis of two [[innominate bone]]s (pelvic bones).<ref>Forsyth Major, 1908, p.&nbsp;97</ref> The generic name was replaced by ''Majoria'' in 1915, because ''Myoryctes'' was [[preoccupied name|preoccupied]] by the name of a [[nematode]] worm.<ref>Thomas, 1915, p.&nbsp;58</ref> However, according to MacPhee, innominates of ''Majoria'' are identical to those assigned to ''Plesiorycteropus''. [[Guillaume Grandidier]] assigned a well-preserved [[femur]] (upper leg bone) to a gigantic relative of the living [[votsovotsa]] (''Hypogeomys antimena''), a large rodent, which he described as ''Hypogeomys boulei''. Lamberton identified this femur as ''Plesiorycteropus'' and MacPhee concurred.<ref name=McP33>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;33</ref> Remains of both ''Majoria rapeto'' and ''Hypogeomys boulei'' fall at the upper end of the size range of the genus, indicating that they are referable to ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis''.<ref name=McP32/> Another ''Plesiorycteropus'' innominate was mistakenly assigned to ''[[Daubentonia robusta]]'', the extinct giant aye-aye,<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;33–34</ref> and other material has been misidentified as of a [[dwarf lemur]] (''Cheirogaleus'').<ref>Godfrey et al., 2001, p.&nbsp;71</ref>

===Relationships===
Filhol had classified ''Plesiorycteropus'' as close to the aardvark on the basis of [[morphology (anatomy)|morphological]] similarities. In his 1946 review, Charles Lamberton was unable to provide a definitive allocation, confused by the various similarities he saw with aardvarks, [[pangolin]]s, [[armadillo]]s, and [[anteater]]s. He believed it was most likely a primitive, isolated member of "Edentata", a group in which he included aardvarks, pangolins, and [[Xenarthra]] (sloths, armadillos, and anteaters). He rejected some alternatives, such as a close affinity to aardvarks or the possibility that the material assigned to ''Plesiorycteropus'' did not in fact represent a single animal.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;13–14</ref> Bryan Patterson, who revised [[Tubulidentata|tubulidentate]]s (the order of which the aardvark is the only living representative) in the 1970s, accepted ''Plesiorycteropus'' as a member of the group, dismissing many similarities with pangolins and other animals as [[convergent evolution|convergent]].<ref>Patterson, 1975, p.&nbsp;215</ref> However, he placed it as the only member of its own subfamily Plesiorycteropodinae in view of its differences from other tubulidentates (subfamily Orycteropodinae), and hypothesized that it arrived on Madagascar in the [[Eocene]], at the same time as the [[lemur]]s.<ref>Patterson, 1975, p.&nbsp;216</ref> Johannes Thewissen, who critiqued some aspects of Patterson's classification in 1985, also accepted ''Plesiorycteropus'' as a tubulidentate without comment.<ref name=McP24>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;24</ref>

Reviewing Patterson's and Thewissen's contributions in 1994, Ross MacPhee found little support for the classification of ''Plesiorycteropus'' as a tubulidentate in their data.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;23–24</ref> MacPhee used a [[cladistics|cladistic]] analysis of eutherians to ascertain the relationships of the genus, but found that while different analytic variants supported different affinities—with aardvarks, [[hyrax]]es, [[ungulate]]s (hooved mammals), and even [[lipotyphla]]ns (shrews, moles, hedgehogs, and allies)—there was no compelling evidence linking it to any other eutherian group.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;198–199</ref> Therefore, he erected a separate order for ''Plesiorycteropus'', named Bibymalagasia,<ref name=McP201>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;201</ref> arguing that it would be unacceptable to leave a Recent eutherian unassigned to any order and that discovery of more material, or further analysis, was unlikely to demonstrate close affinities of ''Plesiorycteropus'' with any other order.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;202–203</ref> He considered it possible but unlikely that a few fossil taxa, such as ''[[Palaeorycteropus]]'' and ''[[Leptomanis]]'' from the [[Paleogene]] of France, would eventually be found to be bibymalagasians.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;201; Tabuce et al., 2008, p.&nbsp;6, for age of the fossils</ref> Various analyses published by Robert Asher and colleagues in 2003, 2005, and 2007, based on morphology combined with [[DNA sequence]] data in some analyses, produced different estimates of the relationships of ''Plesiorycteropus'', some placing it within [[Afrotheria]] close to aardvarks or [[Afrosoricida]], but others supporting a relationship with the hedgehog ''[[Erinaceus]]''.<ref>Asher et al., 2003, p.&nbsp;148; 2005, p.&nbsp;919; Asher, 2007, figs.&nbsp;1–2</ref> A 2004 morphological study by Inés Horovitz, focusing on extinct South American ungulates (such as [[Notoungulata]] and [[Litopterna]]), placed ''Plesiorycteropus'' among tubulidentates and closer to the extinct aardvark relative ''[[Myorycteropus]]'' than to ''Orycteropus''.<ref>Horovitz, 2004, fig.&nbsp;1</ref>

A 2013 study by Michael Buckley examined preserved [[collagen]] sequences in ''Plesiorycteropus'' bones. He found the animal was most closely related to the [[tenrec]]s, a family of insectivorous [[afrotheria]]n mammals endemic to Madagascar.<ref>Buckley, 2013, p.&nbsp;1</ref> Tenrecs are believed to have diversified from a common ancestor that lived 29–37&nbsp;million years ([[megaannum|Ma]]) ago<ref name = "Douady2002">Douady et al., 2002</ref><ref name = "Poux2008">Poux et al., 2008, p.&nbsp;7</ref><ref name = "Everson2016">Everson et al., 2016, p.&nbsp;898</ref> after dispersing from Africa via a single [[Oceanic dispersal|rafting]] event.<ref>Ali and Huber, 2010</ref> Buckley's analysis showed that ''Plesiorycteropus'' and the two members of subfamily [[Tenrecinae]] tested formed a [[monophyletic group]], within a larger [[clade]] in which [[golden moles]] are the [[sister group]];<ref>Buckley, 2013, p.&nbsp;6, Fig.&nbsp;S3, Text&nbsp;S1-S2</ref> he suggested that ''Plesiorycteropus'' should be placed in the order [[Tenrecoidea]] along with tenrecs as well as African [[otter shrew]]s and golden moles (the latter two diverged from tenrecs about 47–53 Ma ago<ref name = "Douady2002" /><ref name = "Poux2008" /><ref name = "Everson2016" /> and 59–69 Ma ago,<ref name = "Poux2008" /><ref name = "Everson2016" /> respectively). He did not test members of the other two Tenrecidae subfamilies or otter shrews, leaving open the possibility that ''Plesiorycteropus'' nests within Tenrecidae.

===Common names===
"Madagascar aardvark" has been used as a [[common name]] for ''Plesiorycteropus'', but MacPhee considered it inappropriate because the animal may not be related to aardvarks. Instead, he proposed "bibymalagasy" as a common name, a manufactured [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]] word meaning "Malagasy animal".<ref name=McP30>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;30</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Plesiorycteropus madagascarensis.JPG|thumb|left|Artistic interpretation of ''Plesiorycteropus madagascarensis'' as a large, tenrec-like animal]]''Plesiorycteropus'' is known from a number of [[subfossil]] bones, comparable to coverage of some of the poorly known [[subfossil lemur]]s, such as ''Daubentonia robusta''. The material includes several skulls, all of which are missing the facial bones, complete long bones such as the femur and [[humerus]] (upper arm bone), and other bones, but some elements are still unknown, including most of the skeleton of the hand and foot.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;29–30</ref> There is little reason to assume it was similar in general form to the aardvark.<ref name=W1050/> No teeth or jaws referable to ''Plesiorycteropus'' have been found, and it is generally assumed that the animal was toothless.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;13; Nowak, 1999, p.&nbsp;1050</ref>

Based on the area of a femur cross-section, MacPhee calculated estimates of body mass. The lowest estimate, based on comparative data from armadillos and pangolins, was {{convert|6|kg|lb}} for the smallest femur he had (referable to ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae'') and the highest estimate, based on comparative data from [[caviomorph]] rodents, was {{convert|18|kg|lb}} for the largest available femur (''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis''); estimates from primates fell between those extremes.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, table&nbsp;14</ref> MacPhee favored the lower estimates, because those were based on armadillos, which have femora similar to those of ''Plesiorycteropus''.<ref name=McP147>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;147</ref> On the other hand, the caviomorph model produced a better estimate of brain size in ''Plesiorycteropus''.<ref name=McP148>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;148</ref> Any of the estimates makes it considerably larger than the largest living tenrec, ''[[Tailless tenrec|Tenrec ecaudatus]]'', at up to {{convert|2|kg|lb}}.<ref>Stephenson et al., 2016</ref> The higher estimates would make it larger than any extant native Malagasy mammal.{{#tag:ref|The largest of these, such as the [[indri]]<ref>Mittermeier et al., 2008, p. 1644</ref> and [[fossa (animal)|fossa]],<ref>Goodman, 2009</ref> do not exceed 10 kg.|group=Note}} This is consistent with the trend for larger members of the [[late Pleistocene]] and [[Holocene]] faunas of Madagascar<ref>Burney et al., 2003</ref><ref>Burney et al., 2004</ref> and elsewhere<ref>Burney and Flannery, 2005</ref> to have been at higher [[Holocene extinction|risk of extinction]].

===Skull===
There are four known skulls (three of ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'' and one of ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae''),<ref name=McPt6>MacPhee, 1994, table&nbsp;6</ref> each of which is damaged. All are missing the front (rostral) part, and three are broken at about the same place (at the [[paranasal|paranasal cavities]], at the front of the [[braincase]]), suggesting that the front part of the skull was thinner and more fragile than the back part, which consists of thick bones.<ref name=McP35>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;35</ref> MacPhee estimated maximum skull length in ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'' at {{convert|101|mm|in}}. The length of the [[frontal bone]] averages {{convert|35.4|mm|in}} in ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'' and is {{convert|29.4|mm|in}} in ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae''.<ref name=McPt7>MacPhee, 1994, table&nbsp;7</ref>

The robust [[nasal bone]]s, preserved in a single specimen, are widest at the front, a feature unusual among placentals that is also seen in armadillos, and are also unusually flat.<ref name=McP40>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;40</ref> The [[ethmoid labyrinth]], in the [[nasal cavity]], was large, suggesting that ''Plesiorycteropus'' had a good sense of smell.<ref name=McP42>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;42</ref> A much larger part of the [[nasal septum]], which separates the left and right nasal cavities, is ossified than usual in other mammals; MacPhee could find a similar condition only in sloths, which have a very short nose.<ref name=McP43>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;43</ref> The [[lacrimal bone]] is relatively large. At it is a single [[lacrimal canal]], which opens near the [[suture (anatomical)|suture]] between the frontal and lacrimal bones, like in lipotyphlans. There is a small tubercle (absent in aardvarks) near this opening.<ref name=McP41>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;41</ref> The [[orbital cavity]], which houses the eyes, is relatively short, similar to the situation in pangolins and armadillos.<ref name=McP44>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;44</ref> A distinct tubercle is present on the suture between the frontal and [[parietal bone]]s in ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae'', but not ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis''.<ref name=McP51>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;51</ref> ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'' has a more expansive braincase and a less pronounced narrowing between the orbits.<ref name=McP32/> The [[foramen rotundum]], an opening in the bone of the orbit, is present. The [[optic canal]], which houses the nerves leading to the eyes, is narrow, suggesting that the eyes were small,<ref name=McP55>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;55</ref> similar to many other tenrecoids.<ref>Buckley, 2013, p.&nbsp;5</ref> As in pangolins and xenarthrans, little of the [[squamosal bone]] can be seen from above.<ref name=McP78>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;78</ref> The [[temporal line]]s on the braincase, which anchor muscles, are located lower in ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae''.<ref name=McP32/> Like in aardvarks, the parietals are relatively large. An [[interparietal bone]] is present. Unlike in anteaters and pangolins, the [[occiput]] (the back of the skull) is flat and vertical. ''Plesiorycteropus'' lacks notches above the [[foramen magnum]] (the opening that connects the brain to the [[spinal cord]]), which are present in aardvarks.<ref name=McP79>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;79</ref> The [[nuchal crest]], a projection on the occiput, is straight in ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'', but in ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae'' it is interrupted in the middle, similar to the situation in armadillos and hyraxes.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;32, 79</ref>

In their descriptions of ''Plesiorycteropus'', Lamberton and Patterson posited different interpretations of the location of the [[mandibular fossa]], where the [[mandible]] (lower jaw) articulates with the cranium. MacPhee found problems with either interpretation and suggested that the true mandibular fossa was part of the area Lamberton identified as such, at the side of the braincase. The fossa is small and low, suggesting that the animal was not capable of powerful biting.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;57, 59, 66</ref> At the back of this fossa is a [[pseudoglenoid proces]],<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;66</ref> which is more prominent in ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae''.<ref name=McP32/> In ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae'' but not ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'', a small opening, perhaps the [[vascular foramen]], is present next to the [[foramen ovale (skull)|foramen ovale]].<ref name=McP32/> The [[petrosal bone]] forms a relatively large portion of the roof of the [[tympanic cavity]], which houses the middle ear;<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;73</ref> parts of the petrosal are more developed in ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis''.<ref name=McP32/> [[Endocast]]s (casts of the inside of the skull) indicate that the [[neopallium]] part of the brain was relatively small.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;81</ref>

===Postcranium===
There are 34 known [[vertebra]]e of ''Plesiorycteropus''. The animal had at least seven [[sacral vertebra|sacral]] and five or six [[lumbar vertebra]]e. A find of associated [[caudal vertebra]]e from the base of the tail, which diminish in size only slowly from front to back, suggests that the tail was long. There is no evidence for the additional [[joint]]s between the vertebrae that are characteristic of xenarthrans.<ref name=McP83>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;83</ref> In the seven known [[thoracic vertebra|thoracic]] (chest) vertebrae, the articulations with the [[intervertebral disk]]s are bean-shaped and much wider from side to side than from top to bottom.<ref name=McP84>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;84</ref> In the back thoracics and all lumbars, a longitudinal [[transarcual canal]] is present in the [[neural arch]].<ref name=McP31>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;31</ref>

A [[scapula]] (shoulder blade), only tentatively assigned to ''Plesiorycteropus'', has the [[acromion]], a [[process (anatomy)|process]], present, but the structure is probably not as large as in aardvarks or armadillos. Six humeri have been found; the bone is robust<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;102</ref> and an [[entepicondylar foramen]] is present in the distal (far) end.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;105</ref> There are three examples of the [[radius (bone)|radius]], a compact and massive bone in ''Plesiorycteropus''<ref name=McP108>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;108</ref> which resembles the pangolin radius.<ref name=McP112>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;111</ref> The three known [[ulna]]e show that the [[olecranon process]] at the proximal (near) end is well-developed, but the distal end is narrow; the morphology of the bone suggests that the animal was capable of producing much force with its arms.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;113</ref>

The innominate is known from seven examples, but most are quite incomplete. It includes a narrow [[ilium (bone)|ilium]] and long [[ischium]].<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;117</ref> The [[ischial tuberosity]], a narrow rough piece of bone in most placentals, is broad and smooth in ''Plesiorycteropus''.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;124</ref> With 17 specimens, the femur is the best represented long bone. It is distinctive in its long [[femoral neck|neck]], similar only to the gymnure ''[[Echinosorex]]'' according to MacPhee.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;126</ref> A projection known as the [[third trochanter]] is larger in ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis''.<ref name=McP32/> The [[tibia]] and [[fibula]] are extensively fused into a [[tibiofibula]], of which eight examples are known. This bone resembles that of armadillos in the extensive fusion, the compression of the shaft of the tibia, the narrowness of the articulation surface at the distal end, and the broad space between the bones.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;132</ref> Unlike in armadillos, the tibia and fibula are not inclined relative to each other, but about parallel.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;135</ref> The [[Talus bone|astragalus]], which is known from four examples, is wide and short<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;138</ref> and contains a uniquely large [[posteromedial process]].<ref name=McP31/> Seven [[metapodial]]s (middle hand or foot bones) are known, rather variable in size, but MacPhee was unable to separate [[metacarpal]]s (from the hand) and [[metatarsal]]s (from the foot). All are rather short and are broad proximally and narrow distally.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;142</ref> Among the few known [[Phalanx bone|phalange]]s, the proximal phalange is shorter than the middle one and the distal phalanges are narrow and clawlike.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;146–147</ref>

==Ecology, behavior, and extinction==
{| class="wikitable" align="right" style="margin-left: 0.5em; margin-top: 0em"
|+ Collection sites<ref name=McPt1>MacPhee, 1994, table&nbsp;1</ref>
|-
! Site !! ''ger.'' !! ''mad.'' !! sp.
|-
| [[Ambolisatra]]|| || + || +
|-
| [[Ampasambazimba]] || + || + || +
|-
| [[Ampoza]]|| || || +
|-
| [[Anjohibe]]|| || + || +
|-
| [[Ankevo]]|| || || ?
|-
| [[Anovaha]]|| || || +
|-
| [[Antsirabe]] || || + || +
|-
| [[Belo sur Mer|Belo]] || || + ||
|-
| [[Bemifany]]|| || || +
|-
| [[Masinandraina]]|| || || +
|-
| [[Sirave]]|| || || +
|-
| colspan="4" | Abbreviations:
*''ger.'': ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae''
*''mad.'': ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis''
*sp.: ''Plesiorycteropus'', species uncertain
|}
The forelimbs of ''Plesiorycteropus'' show specializations for ''scratch-digging'', in which the forefeet are placed against the substrate, the claws are entered into the substrate, and the forefeet are then drawn back against the body.<ref name="McP148"/> Other parts of the body also show such specializations, including large hindlimbs and a broad tail.<ref name=McP149>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;149</ref> Some aspects of the vertebral column and the pelvis suggest that the animal often assumed an erect, or sitting, posture.<ref name=McP153>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;153, 156</ref> The animal may also have been capable of climbing, perhaps in a manner similar to [[gymnure]]s and [[shrew tenrec]]s, which are small-eyed like ''Plesiorycteropus''.<ref name=McP157>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;157</ref> It was probably [[myrmecophagous]], eating insects such as [[ant]]s and [[termite]]s, but may also have eaten other soft food, and because of its small size probably did not forage in [[termite mound]]s, as the aardvark does.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;158–159</ref>

MacPhee had material of ''Plesiorycteropus'' from twelve sites in central, western, and southern Madagascar. It and other recently extinct Madagascar mammals may have lived in and near wetlands.<ref>MacPhee, 1994, pp.&nbsp;34–35</ref> ''P.&nbsp;madagascariensis'' is known from sites throughout this range, but ''P.&nbsp;germainepetterae'' has only been definitely recorded from the center; small bones from southern sites may also belong to it. Thus, the two species apparently had widely overlapping ranges.<ref name=McP32/>

Little is known about the extinction of ''Plesiorycteropus'', but MacPhee assumed it may have happened around 1000 years ago, when the extinction of the rest of the subfossil fauna of Madagascar is thought to have concluded. Nothing like it was reported by 17th-century European explorers of the island,<ref name=McP159>MacPhee, 1994, p.&nbsp;159</ref> and one bone has been [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dated]] to around 2150 [[Before Present]] (200 BCE).<ref>Burney et al., 2004, p.&nbsp;54</ref> Its extinction is somewhat anomalous, as other recently extinct Madagascan animals—such as subfossil lemurs, [[Malagasy hippopotamus]]es, the [[Cryptoprocta spelea|giant fossa]], and [[elephant bird]]s—were generally larger and not exclusively insectivorous; also, some species with likely more specialized diets, such as the [[Eupleres|falanouc]] (''Eupleres goudoti'') and [[aye-aye]] (''Daubentonia madagascariensis''), did survive.<ref name=McP159/> Early human colonists of Madagascar may have caused the extinction of ''Plesiorycteropus'' through the destruction of the forest and other disturbances.<ref name=W1050>Walker, 1999, p.&nbsp;1050</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Paleontology}}
* [[List of mammals of Madagascar]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=15em}}

==Literature cited==
*Ali, J.R. and Huber, M. 2010 [https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature08706 Mammalian biodiversity on Madagascar controlled by ocean currents] (subscription required). Nature 463:653–656.
*Asher, R.J. 2007. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-7-108 A web-database of mammalian morphology and a reanalysis of placental phylogeny]. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7:108.
*Asher, R.J., Novacek, M.J. and Geisler, J.H. 2003. [https://doi.org/10.1023%2FA%3A1025504124129 Relationships of endemic African mammals and their fossil relatives based on morphological and molecular evidence] (subscription required). Journal of Mammalian Evolution 10(1–2):131–194.
*Asher, R.J., Emry, R.J. and McKenna, M.C. 2005. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4524517 New material of ''Centetodon'' (Mammalia, Lipotyphla) and the importance of (missing) DNA sequences in systematic paleontology] (subscription required). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(4):911–923.
*Buckley, M. 2013. [http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0059614 A molecular phylogeny of ''Plesiorycteropus'' reassigns the extinct mammalian order 'Bibymalagasia']. PLoS ONE 8(3):e59614.
*Burney, D.A., Robinson, G.S. and Burney, L.P. 2003. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1534700100 ''Sporormiella'' and the late Holocene extinctions in Madagascar] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100(19):10800–10805.
*Burney, D.A., Burney, L.P., Godfrey, L.R., Jungers, W.L., Goodman, S.M., Wright, H.T. and Jull, A.J.T. 2004. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.05.005 A chronology for late prehistoric Madagascar] (subscription required). Journal of Human Evolution 47(1-2):25–63.
*Burney, D.A. and [[Tim Flannery|Flannery, T.F.]] 2005. [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534705001291 Fifty millennia of catastrophic extinctions after human contact]. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 20(7):395–401.
*Douady, C.J., Catzeflis, F., Kao, D.J., Springer, M.S. and Stanhope, M.J. 2002. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1006/mpev.2001.1055 Molecular evidence for the monophyly of Tenrecidae (Mammalia) and the timing of the colonization of Madagascar by Malagasy tenrecs] (subscription required). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 22(3):357–363.
*Everson, K.M., Soarimalala, V., Goodman, S.M. and Olson, L.E. 2016. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syw034 Multiple loci and complete taxonomic sampling resolve the phylogeny and biogeographic history of tenrecs (Mammalia: Tenrecidae) and reveal higher speciation rates in Madagascar's humid forests]. Systematic Biology 65(5):890–909.
*Forsyth Major, C.I. 1908. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0016756800137197 A giant sub-fossil rat from Madagascar, ''Myoryctes rapeto'' gen. et sp. nov.] (subscription required). Geological Magazine (5)5:97–98.
*Godfrey, L.R., Atkinson, M. and Semprebon, G.M. 2001. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1035 Paul Methuen's sleeping treasure: Subfossil lemurs in the zoological collections of the University Museum, Oxford] (subscription required). American Journal of Physical Anthropology Suppl. 32:70–71.
*Goodman, S. 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110725081653/http://www.lynxeds.com/hmw/species-accounts/hmw-1-species-accounts-red-panda-ailurus-fulgens Species accounts: Fosa (''Cryptoprocta ferox'')] in Wilson, D. and Mittermeier, R. eds., Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores, Lynx Edicions. {{ISBN|978-84-96553-49-1}}
*Horovitz, I. 2004. [http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.2992/0145-9058(2004)36%5B63%3AEMSATO%5D2.0.CO%3B2 Eutherian mammal systematics and the origins of South American ungulates as based on postcranial osteology] (subscription required). Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 36:63–79.
*MacPhee, R.D.E. 1994. [http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/handle/2246/828 Morphology, adaptations, and relationships of ''Plesiorycteropus'', and a diagnosis of a new order of eutherian mammals]. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 220:1–214.
*[[Russell Mittermeier|Mittermeier, R.A.]], Ganzhorn, J.U., Konstant, W.R., Glander, K., [[Ian Tattersall|Tattersall, I.]], [[Colin Groves|Groves, C.P.]], Rylands, A.B., Hapk, A., Ratsimbazafy, J., Mayor, M.I., Louis, E.E., Rumpler, Y., Schwitzer, C. and Rasoloarison, R.M. 2008. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y Lemur Diversity in Madagascar] (subscription required). International Journal of Primatology 29(6):1607–1656.
*Nowak, R.M. 1999. [https://books.google.com/books?id=7W-DGRILSBoC&pg=PA1050 Walker's Mammals of the World. Volume 1]. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1936&nbsp;pp. {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5789-8}}
*Patterson, B. 1975. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4276386 The fossil aardvarks (Mammalia: Tubulidentata)]. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University 147:185–237.
*Poux, C., Madsen, O., Glos, J., de Jong, W.W. and Vences, M.2008. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-8-102 Molecular phylogeny and divergence times of Malagasy tenrecs: Influence of data partitioning and taxon sampling on dating analyses]. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8(1):102.
*{{cite iucn |author=Stephenson, P.J. |author2=Soarimalala, V. |author3=Goodman, S. | title = ''Tenrec ecaudatus'' | journal = IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | volume= 2016 | page = e.T40595A97204107 | year = 2016 |url= https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/40595/97204107}}
*Tabuce, R., Asher, R.J. and Lehmann, T. 2008. [https://dx.doi.org/10.1515/MAMM.2008.004 Afrotherian mammals: a review of current data] (subscription required). Mammalia 72:2–14.
*Thomas, O. 1915. [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16003675 Notes on the Asiatic bamboo-rats (''Rhizomys'', etc.)]. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (8)16:56–61.

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline}}

{{Chronology}}
{{Holocene footer}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q135588}}
{{Featured article}}

[[Category:Endemic fauna of Madagascar]]
[[Category:Enigmatic mammal taxa]]
[[Category:Prehistoric placental genera]]
[[Category:Holocene extinctions]]
[[Category:Prehistoric animals of Madagascar]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1895]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Henri Filhol]]