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Superregnum: Eukaryota Name Eurotamandua Eurotamandua ('European tamandua') is an extinct mammal that lived some 49 million years ago, during the early Eocene. A single fossil is known, coming from the Messel Pit in southwestern Germany. It was about 90 cm (3 ft) long. It is often classified as a pangolin. When it was first discovered, it was originally thought to be an anteater, as it lacked the characteristic fused-hair scales of other pangolins. Eurotamandua's placement within the pangolins was made primarily because of a lack of the characteristic "xenarthran" joints found in all xenarthrans such as tamanduas. Eurotamandua may still be a stem xenarthran, but likely belongs to another group entirely, the Afredentata (probably part of Afrotheria). While a distinct taxon, it is possible that Eomanis krebsi is also not a pangolin and belongs to this same group (Horovitz et al. 2005).
Eurotamandua bears characteristics found in almost all ant-eating mammals: long claws, a strongly elongated snout and most likely the same long, sticky tongue. Presumably it also fed on ants and termites.[1] Eurotamandua got its name because it strongly resembled modern arboreal anteaters of the genus Tamandua, especially with its long, prehensile tail. In popular culture Eurotamandua appeared briefly in Episode 1 of Walking with Beasts, live acted by a tamandua. References ^ Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 209. ISBN 1-84028-152-9. Horovitz, Ines et al. 2005. Ankle structure in Eocene pholidotan mammal Eomanis krebsi and its taxonomic implications. Acta Palaeontol. Pol. 50 (3): 545–548 Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
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