REAPPRAISAL OF THE POSTCRANIUM OF HADROPITHECUS (PRIMATES, INDROIDEA)

Hadropithecus stenognathus (Lorenz von Liburnau [1899] Ant. Akad, Wiss . Wien 36:255-257), a giant extinct lemur from Madagascar, has been re constructed as primarily terrestrial and probably cursorial on the bas is of its postcranial anatomy, especially long bone gracility and inte rlimb proportions. We show here that aspects of this reconstruction ar e almost certainly incorrect. Hindlimb bones of Archaeolemur have been misattributed to Hadropithecus, and new hindlimb allocations (includi ng newly recognized elements such as the calcaneus) indicate that Hadr opithecus had a robust body build and lacked osteological specializati ons for cursoriality. We review the evidence for the existence of ''Br adylemur'' and offer a view of archaeolemurid positional behavior that includes terrestrial and arboreal components. Body size and limb prop ortions of Hadropithecus are reassessed in light of our new allocation s. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.