Reappraisal of the postcranium of Hadropithecus (Primates, Indroidea)

Hadropithecus stenognathus (Lorenz von Liburnau [1899] Anz. Akad. Wiss. Wien 36:255-257), a giant extinct lemur from Madagascar, has been reconstructed as primarily terrestrial and probably cursorial on the basis of its postcranial anatomy, especially long bone gracility and interlimb proportions. We show here that aspects of this reconstruction are almost certainly incorrect. Hindlimb bones of Archaeolemur have been misattributed to Hadropithecus, and new hindlimb allocations (including newly recognized elements such as the calcaneus) indicate that Hadropithecus had a robust body build and lacked osteological specializations for cursoriality. We review the evidence for the existence of "Bradylemur" and offer a view of archaeolemurid positional behavior that includes terrestrial and arboreal components. Body size and limb proportions of Hadropithecus are reassessed in light of our new allocations.