Pantolambda
Encyclopedia
Pantolambda is an extinct genus of Paleocene
pantodont
mammal. Pantolambda lived during the middle Paleocene, and has been found both in Asia and North America. A generalized early mammal, it had a vaguely cat-like body, heavy head, long tail, and five-toed plantigrade
feet ending in blunt nails that were neither hooves nor sharp claws. The foot bones articulated in a similar way to the feet of hoofed mammals, and the feet were probably not very flexible. The teeth had a selenodont structure; enamel ridges with crescent-shaped cusps. Selenodont teeth are found in modern grazers and browsers such as cattle and deer, but Pantolambdas teeth were low-crowned and indicate a not very specialized diet. Pantolambda probably ate a mix of shoots, leaves, fungi, and fruit, which it may have supplemented with occasional insects, worms, or carrion.
Cretaceous
mammals, which had to compete with dinosaurs, were generally small insect eaters. Pantolambda was one of the first mammals to expand into the large-animal niches left vacant by the extinction of the dinosaurs. It was large for a Paleocene mammal, about the size of a sheep. Pantolambda and other early pantodonts would quickly evolve into heavy animals such as Barylambda
and Coryphodon
. These were the first large browsers, pioneering styles of life later followed by many unrelated groups of mammals: rhinos, tapirs, hippos, ground sloths, and elephants.
Pantodonts such as Pantolambda were definitely not tree dwellers. Fossils of the species of this genus have been found in
these locations:
Pantolambda bath modon
San Juan Basin, San Juan County, New Mexico
San Juan County, Sandoval County, New Mexico
Pantolambda cavirictum
San Juan Basin, San Juan County, New Mexico
Fort Union Formation, Fremont County, Wyoming
Pantolambda intermedium
Gidley Quarry, Montana
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
pantodont
Pantodonta
The Pantodonta are an order of now extinct placental mammals.Pantodonts are well known from the Paleocene of North America and Asia, and one early genus Alcidedorbignya, that was found in the Paleocene of South America...
mammal. Pantolambda lived during the middle Paleocene, and has been found both in Asia and North America. A generalized early mammal, it had a vaguely cat-like body, heavy head, long tail, and five-toed plantigrade
Plantigrade
right|151px|thumb|Human skeleton, showing plantigrade habitIn terrestrial animals, plantigrade locomotion means walking with the podials and metatarsals flat on the ground. It is one of three forms of locomotion adopted by mammals...
feet ending in blunt nails that were neither hooves nor sharp claws. The foot bones articulated in a similar way to the feet of hoofed mammals, and the feet were probably not very flexible. The teeth had a selenodont structure; enamel ridges with crescent-shaped cusps. Selenodont teeth are found in modern grazers and browsers such as cattle and deer, but Pantolambdas teeth were low-crowned and indicate a not very specialized diet. Pantolambda probably ate a mix of shoots, leaves, fungi, and fruit, which it may have supplemented with occasional insects, worms, or carrion.
Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
mammals, which had to compete with dinosaurs, were generally small insect eaters. Pantolambda was one of the first mammals to expand into the large-animal niches left vacant by the extinction of the dinosaurs. It was large for a Paleocene mammal, about the size of a sheep. Pantolambda and other early pantodonts would quickly evolve into heavy animals such as Barylambda
Barylambda
Barylambda is an extinct genus of pantodont mammal from the middle to late Paleocene, well known from several finds in North America. Like other pantodonts, Barylambda was a heavyset, 5-toed plantigrade. Three species of Barylambda are currently recognised...
and Coryphodon
Coryphodon
Coryphodon is an extinct genus of mammal. It was widespread in North America between 59 and 51 million years ago. It is regarded as the ancestor of the genus Hypercoryphodon of Mid Eocene Mongolia....
. These were the first large browsers, pioneering styles of life later followed by many unrelated groups of mammals: rhinos, tapirs, hippos, ground sloths, and elephants.
Pantodonts such as Pantolambda were definitely not tree dwellers. Fossils of the species of this genus have been found in
these locations:
Pantolambda bath modon
San Juan Basin, San Juan County, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
San Juan County, Sandoval County, New Mexico
Pantolambda cavirictum
San Juan Basin, San Juan County, New Mexico
Fort Union Formation, Fremont County, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
Pantolambda intermedium
Gidley Quarry, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...