Extinct species of mammal
Neotamandua borealis is an extinct species of anteater. Fossils were found in the Honda Group at the Konzentrat-Lagerstätte of La Venta, Colombia.[1] It was suggested to be an ancestor of the giant anteater, and is also related to the tamanduas.[1] The species was described by Hirschfeld in 1976.[2]
Description
Neotamandua borealis foraged on social insects such as ants and termites.[3] It was both arboreal and terrestrial.[3] It weighed between 10 and 100 kilograms (22 and 220 lb).[3]
References
- ^ a b Hirschfeld, S.E. (1976). "A New Fossil Anteater ( Edentata , Mammalia ) from Colombia , S . A . and Evolution of the Vermilingua". Journal of Paleontology. 50 (3): 419–432. JSTOR 1303522. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ^ Neotamandua borealis at Fossilworks.org
- ^ a b c Kay, R.F. & Madden, R.H. (1997). "Mammals and rainfall: paleoecology of the middle Miocene at La Venta (Colombia, South America)" (PDF). Journal of Human Evolution. 32 (2–3): 170–171. Bibcode:1997JHumE..32..161K. doi:10.1006/jhev.1996.0104. PMID 9061556. Retrieved 2012-07-23.[permanent dead link]
