View source for Pantolambda

{{short description|Genus of mammals (fossil)}}
{{Automatic Taxobox
|fossil_range = [[Paleocene]], {{fossilrange|63|57}}
|image = Pantolambda.jpg
|taxon = Pantolambda
|authority = [[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1882
|display_parents = 3
|type_species = {{extinct}}'''''Pantolambda bathmodon'''''
|type_species_authority = [[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1882
|subdivision_ranks = Species
|subdivision_ref = <ref>{{Paleodb|40565|Pantolambda}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref><ref name=baryd>{{cite web|title=Pantodonta|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~mhaaramo/metazoa/deuterostoma/chordata/synapsida/eutheria/cimolesta/pantodonta.html|publisher=After McKenna & Bell (1997) and Alroy (2002)|accessdate=2 November 2013}}</ref>
|subdivision =
* ''P. bathmodon'' <small>Cope, 1882</small>
* ''P. cavirictum'' <small>Cope, 1883</small>
* ''P. intermedium'' <small>Simpson, 1935</small>
}}

'''''Pantolambda''''' (Greek: "all" (pantos), "lambda" (lambda), in a reference to the shape of upper premolars, similar to the Greek letter lambda<ref>{{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}}</ref>) is an extinct genus of [[Paleocene]] [[Pantodonta|pantodont]] mammal. ''Pantolambda'' lived during the middle Paleocene, and has been found both in Asia and North America.

[[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. ''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.<ref>Halstead, L.B., ''The Evolution of the Mammals'', Peter Lowe, 1978.</ref> Pantodonts such as ''Pantolambda'' were definitely not tree dwellers.

==Description==
[[Image:Pantolambda bathmodon.jpg|thumb|left|''P. bathmodon'' fore and hind foot casts at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin]]
''Pantolambda'' was large for a Paleocene mammal, the species ''P. bathmodon'' reached 28 kg in body mass, while ''P. cavirictum'' was as massive as 178.9 kg.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ross Secord, Thomas E Williamson, Stephen L Brusatte, Daniel Peppe|year=2015|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281274978|title=Stable isotope paleoecology of a diverse late Torrejonian (early Paleocene) mammalian fauna from the San Juan Basin, New Mexico|journal=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology: 75th annual meeting|volume=Abstracts and Programs|page=211}}</ref> 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.

===Teeth===
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 ''Pantolambda'''s teeth were low-crowned and indicate a not very specialized diet.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Amblypoda|author=E. D. Cope |work=The American Naturalist, Vol. 18, No. 11|date=November 1884}}</ref> ''Pantolambda'' probably ate a mix of shoots, leaves, fungi, and fruit, which it may have supplemented with occasional worms or eggs.

==Discovery and species==
[[File:Pantolambda Horsfall.jpg|thumb|right|''P. bathmodon'' by [[Robert Bruce Horsfall]].]] 
Fossils of this genus have been found in these [[Torrejonian]]-[[Tiffanian]] formations at the following localities of the United States:
* ''Pantolambda bathmodon'' — nicknamed "[[ManBearPig]]" (a reference to a creature from ''[[South Park]]'') by some researchers, because it had "five-fingered hands, a bearlike face and the stocky build of a pig" <ref>{{cite web |last1=Temming |first1=Maria |title=Ancient ‘ManBearPig’ mammal lived fast — and died young |url=https://www.snexplores.org/article/ancient-mammal-placenta-fossil-manbearbig-fast-lifestyle |website=Science News Explores |access-date=6 April 2023 |date=13 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=Cassidy |title='ManBearPig' was real, and its fast lifestyle may have helped mammals thrive |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/manbearpig-pantolambda-lived-fast-got-huge-died-young |website=SYFY WIRE |access-date=6 April 2023 |date=14 September 2022}}</ref> <!-- I would like to have had some earlier sources on this nickname, as I heard about it years ago in some science magazine, but, alas, the internet is not forthcoming. It's also unclear from the coverage if this is supposed to refer just to bathmodon, or all Pantolambda, or what. Really, it's unclear how many people use this very unwieldy nickname. -->
** [[Sandoval County, New Mexico]] ({{Coord|35.7|-107.0|display=inline}}, paleocoordinates {{Coord|42.1|-87.1|display=inline}})<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|14812|Alamito Arroyo (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>
* ''Pantolambda cavirictum''
** [[Park County, Wyoming]]<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|14912|Rock Bench Quarry (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>
** [[San Juan County, New Mexico]]<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|14810|44 Store (High) (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>
** Sandoval County, New Mexico<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|14833|East Flank Torreon Wash (Upper) (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>
** [[Carbon County, Wyoming]]<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|14820|Boulder Quarry (UW V-94027) (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>
** [[Fremont County, Wyoming]]<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|15067|Shotgun (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>
* ''Pantolambda intermedium''
** [[Hot Springs County, Wyoming|Hot Springs]]/[[Washakie County, Wyoming]]<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|14911|MPG (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>
** San Juan County, New Mexico<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|14824|Chico Springs (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>
** [[Sweet Grass County, Montana]]<ref>{{Paleodb|collection|14906|Gidley Quarry (Paleocene of the United States)}}. Retrieved July 2013.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Pantodonta}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1093139}}

[[Category:Pantodonta]]
[[Category:Paleocene mammals]]
[[Category:Natural history of San Juan County, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Paleocene mammals of Asia]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1882]]
[[Category:Prehistoric mammal genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope]]


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