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comment by theadvancedapes
theadvancedapes  ·  4227 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Two new primates found to hibernate

I know I wouldn't feel comfortable giving an answer at the moment. My guess is that it is in some way connected to Madagascar's unique environment. But I'm interested to read future studies.





JakobVirgil  ·  4226 days ago  ·  link  ·  

these are strepsirrhines so

perhaps <- this is the word that removes culpability for all my wild speculation

this is a hold-over from the insectivorous squirrelly primate clade founder

artists reconstruction

hibernation could be an ancestral rather than derived trait.

Malagasy niches possibly are closer to those of Africa before the opening of the Mozambique Channel (emergence of mega-predators being a big change.)

We need to find a Galago that does it and see if the hibernation is regulated by the same mechanisms.