A new subfossil locality for the extinct large Malagasy eagle Stephanoaetus mahery (Aves: Falconiformes): Implications for time of extinction and ecological specificity
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online June, 2016
A new subfossil locality for the extinct large Malagasy eagle Stephanoaetus mahery (Aves: Falconiformes): Implications for time of extinction and ecological specificity
We report on the second known locality for a large Malagasy eagle, Stephanoaetus mahery, that went extinct during the Holocene. This nearly complete skeleton comes from Ankilitelo Cave, a deep vertical pitfall shaft in the southwestern lowland portion of the island and in the subarid bioclimatic zone. The specimen was radiocarbon dated to 5550 ± 30 BP (Beta-415922). The holotype of this species comes from Ampasambazimba in the Central Highlands, part of the subhumid bioclimatic zone. The eagle remains from Ankilitelo Cave considerably expands the known geographical and ecological range of this species, which would have been a formidable predator and presumably feeding principally on lemurs.
BrochuCA (2007) Morphology, relationships, and biogeographical significance of an extinct horned crocodile (Crocodylia, Crocodylidae) from the Quaternary of Madagascar. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society150: 835–863.
2.
BrownLHUrbanEKNewmanK (1982) The Birds of Africa, vol. 1. London: Academic Press.
3.
ColquhounIC (2006) Comparing the impact of predators on the activity patterns of lemurids and ceboids. Folia Primatologica77: 143–165.
4.
CornetA (1974) Essai cartographique bioclimatique à Madagascar, carte à 1/2’000’000 et notice explicative. No. 55. Paris: ORSTROM.
5.
CrowleyBE (2010) A refined chronology of prehistoric Madagascar and the demise of the megafauna. Quaternary Science Reviews29: 2591–2603.
6.
CsermelyD (1996) Antipredator behavior in lemurs: Evidence of an extinct eagle on Madagascar or something else?International Journal of Primatology17: 349–354.
7.
DewarREWrightHT. (1993) The culture history of Madagascar. Journal of World Prehistory7: 417–466.
8.
DewarRERadimilahyCWrightHT. (2013) Stone tools and foraging in northern Madagascar challenge Holocene extinction models. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America110: 12583–12588.
9.
GodfreyLRJungersWLBurneyDA (2010) Subfossil lemurs of Madagascar. In: WerdelinLSandersWJ (eds) Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. Berkeley, CA: The University of California Press, pp. 351–367.
10.
GommeryDRamanivosoaB (2011) Les lémuriens subfossiles dans le Nord-Ouest de Madagascar, du terrain à la diffusion des connaissances ou 15 ans de recherches franco-malgache. Revue de Primatologie3: 1–15.
11.
GoodmanSM (1994a) Description of a new species of subfossil eagle from Madagascar: Stephanoaetus (Aves: Falconiformes) from the deposits of Ampasambazimba. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington107: 421–428.
12.
GoodmanSM (1994b) The enigma of antipredator behavior in lemurs: Evidence of a large extinct eagle on Madagascar. International Journal of Primatology15: 129–134.
13.
GoodmanSM (1999) Holocene bird subfossils from the sites of Ampasambazimba, Antsirabe and Ampoza, Madagascar: Changes in the avifauna of south central Madagascar over the past few millennia. In: AdamsNJSlotowRH (eds) Proceedings of the 22nd International Ornithological Congress. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa, pp. 3071–3083.
14.
GoodmanSMJungersWL (2014) Extinct Madagascar: Picturing the Island’s Past. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
15.
GoodmanSMRakotondravonyD (1996) The Holocene distribution of Hypogeomys (Rodentia: Muridae: Nesomyinae) on Madagascar. In: LourençoWR (ed.) Biogéographie de Madagascar. Paris: ORSTOM, pp. 283–293.
16.
GoodmanSMRakotozafyLMA (1995) Evidence for the existence of two species of Aquila on Madagascar during the Quaternary. Geobios28: 241–246.
17.
GoodmanSMRaherilalaoMJMuldoonK (2013) Bird fossils from Ankilitelo Cave: Inference about Holocene environmental changes in southwestern Madagascar. Zootaxa3750: 534–548.
18.
HailerFJamesHFOlsonSL. (2015) Distinct and extinct: Genetic differentiation of the Hawaiian eagle. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution83: 40–43.
19.
JungersWLDemesBGodfreyLR (2008) How big were the ‘giant’ extinct lemurs of Madagascar? In: FleagleJGGilbertCC (eds) Elwyn Simons: A Search for Origins. New York: Springer, pp. 343–360.
20.
LangrandOGoodmanSM (1997) Les oiseaux. In: LangrandOGoodmanSM (eds) Inventaire Biologique Forêt de Vohibasia et Isoky-Vohimena. Recherches pour le Développement, Série Sciences biologiques, vol. 12, pp. 131–143.
21.
McGrawWSCookeCShultzS (2006) Primate remains from African Crowned Eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) nests in Ivory Coast’s Tai Forest: Implications for primate predation and early hominid taphonomy in South Africa. American Journal of Physical Anthropology131: 151–165.
22.
MacPheeRDE (1994) Morphology, adaptations, and relationships of Plesiorycteropus, and a diagnosis of a new order of eutherian mammals. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History220: 1–214.
23.
MuldoonKM (2010) Paleoenvironment of Ankilitelo Cave (Late Holocene, southwestern Madagascar): Implications for the extinction of giant lemurs. Journal of Human Evolution58: 338–352.
24.
MuldoonKMDeBlieuxDDSimonsEL. (2009) The subfossil occurrence and paleoecological significance of small mammals at Ankilitelo Cave, southwestern Madagascar. Journal of Mammalogy90: 1111–1131.
25.
Parker PearsonMGoddenKRamilisoninaR. (2010) Pastoralists, Warriors and Colonists: The Archaeology of Southern Madagascar. Oxford: Archaeopress.
26.
PinaultD (1998) Sindbad. In: MeisamiJSStarkeyP (eds) Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, vol. 2. London: Routledge, pp. 721–722.
27.
PowzykJThalmannU (2003) Indri indri, indri. In: GoodmanSMBensteadJP (eds) The Natural History of Madagascar. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, pp. 1342–1345.
28.
SamondsKE (2007) Late Pleistocene bat fossils from Anjohibe Cave, northwestern Madagascar. Acta Chiropterologica9: 39–65.
29.
SimonsEL (1997) Lemurs: Old and new. In: GoodmanSMPattersonBD (eds) Natural Change and Human Impact in Madagascar. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. 142–166.
30.
SkorupaJP (1989) Crowned Eagles Strephanoaetus [sic] coronatus in rainforest: Observations on breeding chronology and diet at a nest in Uganda. Ibis131: 294–298.
31.
StruhsakerTTLeakeyM (1990) Prey selectivity by crowned hawk-eagles on monkeys in the Kibale Forest, Uganda. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology26: 435–443.
32.
VérinP (1971) Les anciens habitats de Rezoky et d’Asambalahy. Taloha4: 29–49.
