• Key Information

  • Sloth Lemurs

  • Species
    Archaeoindris fontoynontii, Babakotia radofilai, Mesopropithecus dolichobrachion, Mesopropithecus globiceps, Mesopropithecus pithecoides, Palaeopropithecus ingens, Palaeopropithecus maximus, Palaeopropithecus kelyus
  • Diet
    Herbivore
  • Height (to shoulder)
    2 ft 6 inch (?) to 5 ft 11 inches (?)
  • Weight
    22 to 350 lb
  • Classification
    Mammalia > Primates > Palaeopropithecidae
  • Life Span
    Unknown
  • Conservation Status
    Extinct
  • Habitat
    Forests
  • Learning Point
  • Sloth Lemurs were apes that ranged from just bigger than modern lemurs, right up to the size of gorillas and possibly larger. They lived on the island of Madagascar, and the last of them became extinct about 400 years ago.
  • Project
  • Draw one of the Sloth Lemurs in the trees.
  • Location
  • Places
    Madagascar (Map of Mesopropithecus)
  • Fun Facts
  • They're called Sloth Lemurs because they resemble lemurs, but many seemed to have spent a part of their time upside down like sloths.
  • The smallest, Mesopropithecus, were slightly larger than modern lemurs.
  • The largest, Archaeoindris, may have been as big or bigger than gorillas, though we don't have complete skeletons to work from to be certain.
  • It is thought hunting by the local people were the reason that they became extinct.
 
Pleistocene to Holocene
 
2580000 BCE
 
2026 CE
 
 774000 BCE
 126000 BCE
 11700 BCE
 1 CE