Ampasambazimba is a mountain peak and

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

site in Madagascar, near Analavory, (

Itasy Itasy is a region in central Madagascar. It borders Analamanga region in northeast, Vakinankaratra in south and Bongolava in northwest. The capital of the region is Miarinarivo, and the population was 897,962 in 2018. It is the smallest of all t ...

) most known for being the site of the remains of the extinct giant sloth lemur ''

Archaeoindris ''Archaeoindris fontoynontii'' is an Subfossil lemur, extinct giant lemur and the largest primate known to have evolved on Madagascar, comparable in size to a male gorilla. It belonged to a Family (biology), family of extinct lemurs known as "sl ...

''. Ampasambazimba is located at 1,036 meters above sea level. It was discovered in 1902 by Monsieur Raybaud, a colonial administrator at the time. In 1909, the giant sloth lemur ''Archaeoindris'' was described by Herbert F. Standing using subfossil fragments. A complete skull was later discovered by

Charles Lamberton Charles Lamberton (23 April 18768 October 1960) was a French paleontologist who lived and studied on the island of Madagascar between 1911 and 1948 and specialized in the recently extinct subfossil lemurs. He made significant contributions towar ...

in 1925, which he then published in 1934. Ampasambazimba is regarded as one of the most productive and most well-known subfossil sites in Madagascar. A number of sporadic excavations were conducted at Ampasambazimba, ranging from 1902 to 1984. Excavations resulted in the discovery of 15 lemuroid species, of which seven were extinct. Excavations also resulted in the discovery of 13 bird species, of which eight were extinct.

History

Prehistoric

Radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...

suggests lemuroid species were living on Ampasambazimba over 22,000 years ago. The dating also showed that tree specimens had existed over 8,000 years ago. It has been believed that the giant

sloth lemur The sloth lemurs (Palaeopropithecidae) comprise an extinct family of lemurs that includes four genera. The common name can be misleading, as members of Palaeopropithecidae were not closely related to sloths. This clade has been dubbed the ‘‘s ...

'' had been living when humans first set foot on Madagascar at approximately 350 BC. Subfossil evidence suggested that '' Megaladapis grandidieri'' was the last extant lemuroid species, with the subfossil sample being dated 900–1040 AD. Birds and eagles, including '' Stephanoaetus mahery'', were also thought to have been living at Ampasambazimba over 5,500 years ago. Prior to human arrival, Ampasambazimba was thought to have been a more open habitat, rather than a completely forested area. It consisted of a mix of woodlands, bushlands, and savanna.

Discovery

In 1902, Monsieur Raybaud, a colonial administrator, discovered Ampasambazimba and constructed a report to then-

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

Émile Loubet Émile François Loubet (; 30 December 183820 December 1929) was the 45th Prime Minister of France from February to December 1892 and later President of France from 1899 to 1906. Trained in law, he became Mayor (France), mayor of Montélimar, w ...

. This prompted a number of sporadic excavations, ranging from 1902 to 1984. Excavations unearthed an "enormous amount of bone material". 15 lemur species, including ''Archaeoindris'' and ''Megaladapis'', were unearthed; seven were extinct. 13 bird species, including ''Stephanoeatus mahery'', were also unearthed; eight were extinct.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Cite journal , last1 = MacPhee , first1 = R. D. E. , last2 = Burney , first2 = D. A. , last3 = Wells , first3 = N. A. , doi = 10.1007/BF02735571 , title = Early Holocene chronology and environment of Ampasambazimba, A Malagasy subfossil lemur site , journal = International Journal of Primatology , volume = 6 , issue = 5 , pages = 463–489 , year = 1985 , s2cid = 44449535 Mountains of Madagascar Subfossil lemurs