Germain Petter's Bibymalagasy

Plesiorycteropus germainepetterae

Germain Petter's Bibymalagasy

“ It's the African Anteater Ritual!!! ”

– Eva Hicks

Scientific Taxonomy & Character Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Clade: Synapsida

Class: Mammalia

Order: Afrosoricida

Suborder: Tenrecomorpha

Genus:Plesiorycteropus

Species: Plesiorycteropus germainepetterae

Descendant: tenrec

Named by: Ross MacPhee

Year Published: 1994

Size: smaller than aardvark; 6 to 18 kilograms in weight (13 to 40 lb)

Lifespan: ??? years

Type: 

Title: 

Pantheon: Terran/Gaian

Time Period: Holocene

Alignment: Shy

Threat Level: ★★

Diet: Carnivorous 🥩🥓🦀🦑🪲

Elements: all

Inflicts: all

Weaknesses: Fire, electric, leaf, sound

Casualties: none

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Extinct (EX) – IUCN Red List

The Germaine Petter's Bibymalagasy (Plesiorycteropus germainepetterae) is an extinct species of large tenrec that resembles the aardvark or anteater, but it is a very good example of convergent evolution.

Etymology

Plesiorycteropus has been given the popular name Madagascar aardvark, although Ross MacPhee thought it was inappropriate because the animal may not be related to aardvarks. Instead, he offered "bibymalagasy" as a common name, a fabricated Malagasy term meaning "Malagasy animal".

Physical Appearance

Plesiorycteropus resembles a real aardvark, but they aren't close relatives. Plesiorycteropus as a member of the group, dismissing many similarities with pangolins and other animals as convergent evolution.

Abilities

Plesiorycteropus was probably a digging animal that fed on insects such as termites and ants. It also shows Plesiorycteropus' adaptations for climbing and sitting.

Ecology

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. Other parts of the body also show such specializations, including large hindlimbs and a broad tail. Some aspects of the vertebral column and the pelvis suggest that the animal often assumed an erect, or sitting, posture.


The animal may also have been capable of climbing, perhaps in a manner similar to gymnures and shrew tenrecs, which are small-eyed like Plesiorycteropus. It was probably myrmecophagous, eating insects such as ants and termites, but may also have eaten other soft food, and because of its small size, probably did not forage in termite mounds, as the aardvark does.

Lifespan

In captivity, Plesiorycteropus do very poorly. It has been observed that captive specimens have rapid health decline and only survive 5 days.

Behavior

Their primary defense mechanism is a fast underground escape. Plesiorycteropus, however, has a reputation for being quite hostile toward these bigger creatures. In addition to tail-whipping and kicking the menacing animal with its strong rear legs, Plesiorycteropus tries to harm its adversary with their strong, sharp claws.

Distribution and Habitat

Ross MacPhee had material on Plesiorycteropus from twelve sites in central, western, and southern Madagascar. It and other recently extinct Madagascar mammals may have lived in and near wetlands. Plesiorycteropus madagascariensis is known from sites throughout this range, but Plesiorycteropus 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.


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