Malagasy Crowned Eagle

The Madagascar Crowned Eagle ( Stephanoaetus mahery ) is an extinct bird of prey that was endemic to Madagascar. He is known only from subfossil remains. The specific epithet mahery is derived from the Malagasy language and means " powerful " or "powerful".

Features

The holotype, a left tarsometatarsus, which in 1925 was promoted 85 km west of Madagascar's capital Antananarivo at days at Ampasambazimba, has a length of 108.0 mm, a width of 26.1 mm proximal and a distal width of 27.9 mm. The material designated as paratypes includes distal phalanges, the first clutches of the right side and the left side, the distal quarter of the left ulna and a pelvic fragment. The nature of the tarsometatarsus shows him as a close relative of the African crowned eagle ( Stephanoaetus coronatus ). He was, however, larger and is considered the most powerful birds of prey in the Holocene of Madagascar.

Way of life

On the basis of tarsometatarsus length and from comparisons with the lifestyle of the crown eagle suspected of Erstbeschreiber Steven M. Goodman, that the Madagascar Kronenadler large lemurs and Malagasy hippos hunted. The young birds of elephant birds ( Aepyornis ) could have counted to his prey.

Extinction

The Madagascar Kronenadler probably disappeared in the 16th century due to the destruction of forests and over-hunting its prey by the Malagasy.

Bird -Roch legend

In the stories of Marco Polo and the Sinbad story from 1001 of the giant roc appears, have brought many authors such as Louis Lavauden (1931 ) with the elephant birds in conjunction. Other authors such as Raymond Decary (1937) and Claude Alli Bert (1992 ) denied this and identified the bird as a bird of prey Roch. Should the roc not be complete fantasy sprung, this legend may have originated with Madagascar Crowned Eagle.