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EUROTAMANDUA
(yoo-roe-tam-an-doo-ah)
meaning: "European Tamandua"
Eurotamandua
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 |
About

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.

Read more about Eurotamandua at Wikipedia
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