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 (Horovitz et al. 2005).
Paleobiology[]
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.