Barylambda
{{short description|Pantodont mammal genus from the Paleocene epoch}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Mid Paleocene-Early Eocene
(Tiffanian-Wasatchian)
~{{fossilrange|60|50}}
| image = FMNH Barylamda.jpg
| image_caption = B. faberi skeleton, Field Museum
| taxon = Barylambda
| authority = Patterson 1937
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
- B. churchilli Gingerich & Childress 1983
- B. faberi Patterson 1933
- B. jackwilsoni Schiebout 1974
}}
Barylambda (Greek: "heavy" (baros), "lambda" (lambda) in a reference to larger size than that of Pantolambda{{cite web|url=https://research.amnh.org/paleontology/perissodactyl/concepts/glossary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120123130/https://research.amnh.org/paleontology/perissodactyl/concepts/glossary|archive-date=20 November 2021|title=Glossary. American Museum of Natural History}}) is an extinct genus of pantodont mammal from the middle to late Paleocene, well known from several finds in the Wasatchian (NALMA classification) DeBeque Formation of Colorado and the Clarkforkian Wasatch Formation to Tiffanian Fort Union Formation in Wyoming. Three species of Barylambda are currently recognized.{{cite journal |last1=Gingerich |first1=Philip D. |last2=Childress Jr |first2=C.G |year=1983 |title=Barylambda churchilli, a new species of Pantolambdidae (Mammalia, Pantodonta) from the Late Paleocene of Western North America |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/48516 |journal=Museum of Paleontology, the University of Michigan|hdl=2027.42/48516 }} The creature likely lived a life similar to that of a modern tapir, browsing on foliage and soft vegetation.World Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures: The Ultimate Visual Reference To 1000 Dinosaurs And Prehistoric Creatures Of Land, Air And Sea ... And Cretaceous Eras (World Encyclopedia) by Dougal Dixon Barylambda seems to have been quite successful for an early pantodont, though eventually it seems to have been replaced in its ecosystem by other pantodonts, such as Coryphodon.
Description
In life, Barylambda probably resembled a large ground sloth, with a small head and long, well-developed tail and bear-like legs. It was a large animal weighing around {{cvt|650|kg|lb}},{{cite book |last1=Lucas |first1=Spencer G. |editor1=Janis, Christine M. |editor2=Scott, Kathleen M. |editor3=Jacobs ,Louis L. |title=Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 1, Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulate Like Mammals |chapter=Pantodonta |date=28 May 1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=274–283 |isbn=978-0-521-35519-3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I-RgojcDyWYC&pg=PA275}} about the size of a pony. Barylambda was large even for a pantodont, sheer size probably protecting it from contemporary carnivores.
Like other pantodonts, Barylambda was a heavyset, five-toed plantigrade animal. The vertebrae of the tail were unusually massive; the living animal may have been able to rear up and support itself on the hind legs and tail in order to reach higher for food. The generalized appearance of the teeth, the presence of well-developed canines only in males, the grinding wear and lack of shearing blades on the molars, and the animal's heavy build strongly suggest that it was herbivorous.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20121119170112/http://www.okapiland.com/life/life3/type/carnivora.html Ferae Past and Present (Phylogenetic tree)] at Okapiland
{{Pantodonta}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q791059}}
Category:Paleogene mammals of North America
Category:Fossils of the United States
Category:Paleontology in Colorado
Category:Paleontology in Wyoming