Andrahomana Cave (historical collections) (Holocene of Madagascar)

Where: Toliara, Madagascar (25.2° S, 46.6° E: paleocoordinates 25.2° S, 46.6° E)

• coordinate stated in text

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Holocene (0.0 - 0.0 Ma)

• sediments are from "a large collapsed-cave feature in Pleistocene eolianite (calcareous sandstone)" (Godfrey et al. 2006), and the lower unit yielding extinct vertebrates is stratigraphically mixed and "mid-to-late Holocene" (Burney et al. 2008)

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: cave; silty sandstone

• "an upper unit, generally 10-20 cm thick, of brown humic silty sand" contains extant taxa and "a much thicker lower unit, of ca. 1 m to <3m thicknes, or coarser, lighter-colored sands" includes the extinct taxa

Size class: macrofossils

Collected by F. Sikora, C. Allaud, Lt. Gaulbert, G. Grandidier, M. F. Geay, R. Decary in 1899-1902, 1906, 1926; reposited in the BMNH, MNHN

Collection methods: quarrying, surface (in situ),

• most historical collections come from the 1899 excavations and were reposited at the NHM and Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, but additional MNHN material was recovered by C. Allaud, Lt. Gaulbert, G. Grandidier in 1900, 1901, and 1902, M. F. Geay in 1906, and R. Decary in 1926 (Burney et al. 2008)

Primary reference: D. A. Burney, N. Vasey, L. R. Godfrey, Ramilisonina, W. L. Jungers, M. Ramarolahy, and L. Raharivony. 2008. New findings at Andrahomana Cave, southeastern Madagascar. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 70(1):13-24 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 92732: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 26.11.2009

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Reptilia
 Crocodylia - Crocodylidae
"Crocodilus robustus" = Crocodylus
"Crocodilus robustus" = Crocodylus crocodile
Aves
 Anseriformes - Anatidae
Centrornis sp. Andrews 1897 waterfowl
 Aepyornithiformes - Aepyornithidae
Aepyornis sp. Geoffroy 1850 elephant bird
Reptilia
 Testudines - Testudinidae
Geochelone radiata, "Dipsochelys sp." = Aldabrachelys
Geochelone radiata Shaw 1802 Radiated tortoise
formerly Geochelone (Testudo) radiata
"Dipsochelys sp." = Aldabrachelys Loveridge and Williams 1957 turtle
formerly Geochelone (Testudo) grandidieri
Mammalia
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
Bos indicus Linnaeus 1758 ox
formerly Bos madagascariensis
 Artiodactyla - Hippopotamidae
Hippopotamus lemerlei Milne Edwards 1868 hippo
 Carnivora - Eupleridae
Cryptoprocta ferox Bennett 1833 fossa
"var. nov. spelea, large size"
Fossa fossana Muller 1776 Malagasy civet
"'Vivera fosa' (var. nov. alluaudi, large size)" (meaning Viverra fossa = Fossa fossana)
 Carnivora - Canidae
Canis familiaris Linnaeus 1758 dog
"Canis lupus familiaris"
 Rodentia - Muridae
Rattus sp. Fischer 1803 rat
formerly Mus decumanus
Mus musculus Linnaeus 1758 house mouse
 Rodentia - Nesomyidae
Hypogeomys australis Malagasy giant rat
 Primates - Megaladapidae
Megaladapis edwardsi Grandidier 1899 lemur
Megaladapis madagascariensis Forsyth Major 1894 lemur
 Primates - Indriidae
Propithecus verreauxi Grandidier 1867 sifaka
Avahi laniger Gmelin 1788 eastern woolly lemur
 Primates - Archaeolemuridae
Hadropithecus stenognathus n. gen. n. sp. Lorenz von Liburnau 1899 monkey lemur
Archaeolemur majori Filhol 1895 monkey lemur
Archaeolemur edwardsi Filhol 1895 monkey lemur
 Primates - Lemuridae
Pachylemur insignis Filhol 1895 lemur
formerly Lemur insignis
Lemur catta Linnaeus 1758 ring-tailed lemur
 Primates - Cheirogaleidae
Microcebus sp. Geoffroy 1827 mouse lemur
formerly Cheirogaleus myoxinus
Cheirogaleus medius Geoffroy 1812 fat-tailed dwarf lemur
formerly Cheirogaleus samati
 Tribosphenida - Tenrecidae
Tenrec ecaudatus Schreber 1778 common tenrec
formerly Centetes
Geogale aurita Milne-Edwards and Grandidier 1872 Large-eared tenrec
formerly Cryptogale
Microgale principula shrew tenrec
formerly Paramicrogale decaryi
 Chiroptera - Pteropodidae
Rousettus madagascariensis rousette
formerly Pelophilous
Pteropus rufus flying fox
formerly Pteropus edwardsi