Post by Infinity Blade on Apr 15, 2015 6:58:36 GMT 5
Eurotamandua joresi
An illustration of Eurotamandua joresi, seemingly by Mauricio Antón(?).
Temporal range: Early Eocene (Ypresian; ~48-47Ma)
Scientific classification:
Life
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pholidota
Family: †Eurotamanduidae
Genus: †Eurotamandua
Species: †E. joresi
Eurotamandua joresi ('European tamandua') is an extinct member of the Pholidota. The animal lived during the Eocene epoch in Germany ~48-47 million years ago (in what's now the Messel Pit). Once classified as an anteater, Eurotamandua is now known to have been completely unrelated to the aforementioned animals given its lack of xenarthran vertebral joints.[1][2] Modern paleontologists now seem to think it was a rather basal pangolin.[2] Eurotamandua likely preyed upon insects such as ants as indicated by its physical attributes; long manual unguals (claws) plus longirostry coupled with possibly a tongue akin to those of other ant-eating mammals (one that is particularly long and sticky) are strong indications of such a lifestyle.[3] It was also named after the genus Tamandua in that it bore resemblance to it. Interestingly enough, it made an appearance (albeit a short one) in Walking with Beasts, where it was live-acted by its namesake, a tamandua. Though not an actual tamandua, the fact that Eurotamandua lacked the hair-fused scales of modern pangolins[4] suggests it would have looked more or less similar to one (see the reconstruction above).
Fossil remains of Eurotamandua.
References:
[1] Kenneth D. Rose (2006). The Beginning of the Age of Mammals.
[2] Gaudin, T. J., Emry, R. J., & Wible, J. R. (2009). The phylogeny of living and extinct pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and associated taxa: a morphology based analysis. Journal of mammalian evolution, 16(4), 235.
[3] Douglas Palmer (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals.
[4] Thom Holmes (2008). The Prehistoric Earth-Volume 8. p. 161 (snippet view of the book says "In body form, Eurotamandua was similar to Eomanis in many ways, but Eurotamandua lacked scales.").
An illustration of Eurotamandua joresi, seemingly by Mauricio Antón(?).
Temporal range: Early Eocene (Ypresian; ~48-47Ma)
Scientific classification:
Life
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Order: Pholidota
Family: †Eurotamanduidae
Genus: †Eurotamandua
Species: †E. joresi
Eurotamandua joresi ('European tamandua') is an extinct member of the Pholidota. The animal lived during the Eocene epoch in Germany ~48-47 million years ago (in what's now the Messel Pit). Once classified as an anteater, Eurotamandua is now known to have been completely unrelated to the aforementioned animals given its lack of xenarthran vertebral joints.[1][2] Modern paleontologists now seem to think it was a rather basal pangolin.[2] Eurotamandua likely preyed upon insects such as ants as indicated by its physical attributes; long manual unguals (claws) plus longirostry coupled with possibly a tongue akin to those of other ant-eating mammals (one that is particularly long and sticky) are strong indications of such a lifestyle.[3] It was also named after the genus Tamandua in that it bore resemblance to it. Interestingly enough, it made an appearance (albeit a short one) in Walking with Beasts, where it was live-acted by its namesake, a tamandua. Though not an actual tamandua, the fact that Eurotamandua lacked the hair-fused scales of modern pangolins[4] suggests it would have looked more or less similar to one (see the reconstruction above).
Fossil remains of Eurotamandua.
References:
[1] Kenneth D. Rose (2006). The Beginning of the Age of Mammals.
[2] Gaudin, T. J., Emry, R. J., & Wible, J. R. (2009). The phylogeny of living and extinct pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and associated taxa: a morphology based analysis. Journal of mammalian evolution, 16(4), 235.
[3] Douglas Palmer (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals.
[4] Thom Holmes (2008). The Prehistoric Earth-Volume 8. p. 161 (snippet view of the book says "In body form, Eurotamandua was similar to Eomanis in many ways, but Eurotamandua lacked scales.").
