Neotamandua
Extinct genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Neotamandua is an extinct genus of anteaters that lived in the Miocene to Pliocene in South America.
| Neotamandua | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Pilosa |
| Family: | Myrmecophagidae |
| Genus: | †Neotamandua Rovereto 1914 |
| Species | |
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Taxonomy
Their fossils have been found in the Miocene Collón Cura Formation of Argentina,[2] the Honda Group at La Venta in Colombia and the Pliocene Araucano Formation in Argentina.[3] Its closest living relatives are the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and tamanduas (genus Tamandua).[3][2] The species Neotamandua borealis was suggested to be an ancestor of the giant anteater.[4] Patterson (1992) suggested the Neotamandua fossils are very similar to Myrmecophaga, which would mean Neotamandua may be congeneric with Myrmecophaga.[2]
