Named By: | Gerhard Stroch in 1981 |
Time Period: | Early to Middle Eocene |
Location: | Germany - Messel Pit |
Size: | Around 90 centimetres long |
Diet: | Insectivore |
Fossil(s): | Single but almost complete specimen |
Classification: | | Chordata | Mammalia | Afredentata | Eurotamanduidae | I | |
Eurotamandua ('European tamandua') is an extinct genus of 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.