Eurotamandua

Eurotamandua ("european Tamandua") is an extinct genus of mammal from extinct family Eurotamanduidae that lived some 48 million years ago, during the middle Eocene.

Eurotamandua Temporal range: 48.6–40.4 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Middle Eocene
Fossil of Eurotamandua joresi
Life reconstruction of Eurotamandua joresi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Pholidota
Family:	†Eurotamanduidae Szalay & Schrenk, 1994
Genus:	†Eurotamandua Storch, 1981
Type species
†Eurotamandua joresi Storch, 1981

A single fossil is known, coming from the Messel Pit in southwestern Germany. Eurotamandua was about 90 cm (35 in) long. Most palaeontologists now classify Eurotamandua as a pangolin. When its fossils were first discovered, Eurotamandua 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, including tamanduas.

There is still much ambiguity in the taxonomy of all mammals prior to the Eocene, so there is the possibility that Eurotamandua was a primitive xenarthran. However, this is highly unlikely because all known fossil evidence indicates that xenarthrans existed exclusively in South America from the beginning of the Cenozoic era until the formation of the Panama land bridge 3 million years ago, after which they spread to North America (but never to Eurasia or Africa). Another possibility is that Eurotamandua belongs to another groups of mammals which appeared around its time, the Afredentata (probably part of Afrotheria).[1] Eurotamandua is currently thought to be a stem-pangolin, closer to crown pangolins than Palaeanodonta and Euromanis but more basal than Eomanis and Necromanis.[2]

Paleobiology

Eurotamandua bears characteristics found in almost all ant-eating mammals: long claws, an elongated snout, and most likely the same long, sticky tongue. These features led Eurotamandua to be initially misclassified as a xenarthran anteater, which was common for many ant-eating mammals prior to the 20th century. Presumably it also fed on ants and termites.[3] The generic name comments on the strong, albeit possibly superficial resemblance to modern arboreal anteaters of the genus Tamandua, especially with its long, prehensile tail.

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic position of genus Eurotamandua within order Pholidota.[2][4]

Pholidotamorpha	†Palaeanodonta    Pholidota    †Euromanis    ?  †pholidota sp. (BC 16’08)       Eupholidota    †Eurotamanduidae   †Eurotamandua  †Eurotamandua joresi        sensu stricto
(Pholidota sensu lato)

References

1. Hunter, John P. and Janis, Christine M. 2006. "Spiny Norman in the Garden of Eden? Dispersal and early biogeography of Placentalia." J Mammal Evol 13:89–123
2. Gaudin, Timothy (2009). "The Phylogeny of Living and Extinct Pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and Associated Taxa: A Morphology Based Analysis" (PDF). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media. 16 (4): 235–305. doi:10.1007/s10914-009-9119-9.
3. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 209. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
4. Kondrashov, Peter; Agadjanian, Alexandre K. (2012). "A nearly complete skeleton of Ernanodon (Mammalia, Palaeanodonta) from Mongolia: morphofunctional analysis". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (5): 983–1001. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.694319. ISSN 0272-4634.

External links

• Online discussion of Eurotamandua relations
• Photo of fossil