The Andrahomana Cave is a complex of

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

s in Andranobory (

Anosy Anosy is one of the 23 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name ''Anosy'' means "island(s)" in Malagasy. Due to a strategic sea route running alon ...

region, near Fort-Dauphin) in south eastern

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Megafauna

It is remarkable due to the number of fossils of extinct

megafauna In zoology, megafauna (from Ancient Greek, Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and Neo-Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") are large animals. The precise definition of the term varies widely, though a common threshold is approximately , this lower en ...

of the island. It is where were found, among other animals, fossils of the giant lemur '' Hadropithecus stenognathus'', the pygmy hippo ''

Hippopotamus lemerlei Lemerle's dwarf hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus lemerlei'') is an extinct species of Malagasy hippopotamus. Taxonomy Malagasy hippopotamuses were first discovered in the mid-19th century by Alfred Grandidier, who unearthed nearly 50 individual hi ...

'', and the giant land tortoise '' Aldabrachelys grandidieri''.Goodman SM, Jungers WL. Human Interactions with Now-Extinct Land Vertebrates. In ''Extinct Madagascar'' 2021 Jan 20 (pp. 47-51). University of Chicago Press.

References

Caves of Madagascar Sinkholes of Africa {{Madagascar-geo-stub