Pachylemur is an extinct, giant red lemur most closely related to the Ruffed lemur 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. They are known to live in trees that are high up in the canopies of Madagascar and eat fruit.
Description[]
The Pachylemur has a massive jaws with huge teeth and can grow as large as 5 feet in length.
Evolutionary history[]
Anatomy and physiology[]
Behavior[]
Distribution and habitat[]
Extinction[]
When humans arrived in Madagascar, the Pachylemur was hunted and it's habitat was destroyed along with all the other giant lemurs which got extinct about 1,000 years ago. However in 2015, scientists found two Pachylemur remains pristinely preserved by rain water at the bottom of a flooded cave in southern Madagascar as carbon dating showed that those skull remains were less than 500 years old meaning that the Pachylemur might not have gone extinct.
Possible sightings[]
It is possible that the Pachylemur might still be alive as villagers reported sightings in the Northern part of Madagascar. In Masoala Peninsula on the Northeast coast of Madagascar has the largest cluster of recent sightings of the Pachylemur. The locals called the Pachylemur the Kisuala. The villagers said that the Kisuala loves the tallest trees in the forest and had a face similar to a dog with a reddish coat and larger. Many villagers believe that the Kisuala is an aggressive animal since it name means knife of the forest and anything that passes beneath the creature will die making it a carnivore but the Pachylemur is not a carnivore despite the errors of what the people think of the animal.
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