Kingdom Animalia Superorder Xenarthra Phylum Chordata Order Pilosa | Class Mammalia Suborder Vermilingua Rank Genus | |
Family Myrmecophagidae
Rafinesque 1815 Similar Pilosa, Huilatherium, Anachlysictis, Dukecynus | ||
Neotamandua is an extinct genus of anteaters that lived in the Miocene to Pliocene in South America. Their fossils have been found in the La Venta fauna of Colombia and the Pliocene Araucano Formation in Argentina. Its closest living relatives are the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and tamanduas (genus Tamandua). The species Neotamandua borealis was suggested to be an ancestor of the giant anteater. Patterson (1992) suggested the Neotamandua fossils are so similar to Myrmecophaga and Neotamandua may be congeneric with Myrmecophaga.
References
Neotamandua Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA