Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 10, 2022

Cryptoprocta spelea, the giant fossa, is an extinct species from Madagascar in the family Eupleridae. Most closely related to the mongooses, the family includes all of Madagascar's carnivorans. The giant fossa was first described in 1902, and in 1935 was recognized as a separate species from its closest relative, the living fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox). Apart from its size, C. spelea was similar to the fossa. When and how C. spelea became extinct is unknown, and there is some anecdotal evidence of more than one surviving species. The species is known from subfossil bones found in a variety of caves in northern, western, southern, and central Madagascar. In some sites, it occurs with remains of C. ferox, but there is no evidence that the two lived in the same places at the same time. C. spelea would have been able to prey on larger animals than its smaller relative could have, including the recently extinct giant lemurs.