A new subfossil locality for the extinct large Malagasy eagle Stephanoaetus mahery (Aves: Falconiformes): Implications for time of extinction and ecological specificity. (June 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Goodman, Steven M; Muldoon, Kathleen M
• Is Part Of: Holocene. Volume 26:Number 6(2016)
• Page Start: 985
• Page End: 989
• Publication Date: 2016-06
• Subjects: Ankilitelo Cave -- eagle -- extinct -- Late Holocene -- lemurs -- Madagascar -- predator -- subfossil; Geology, Stratigraphic -- Holocene -- Periodicals; Paleoclimatology -- Periodicals; 333.7
• DOI: 10.1177/0959683615622554
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6836

Abstract

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.