Bemalambda

''Bemalambda'' is an extinct mammal, belonging to the pantodonts. It lived in the lower-middle Paleocene (about 63–58 million years ago) and the fossil remains have been found in China.

Description

It was a medium-size animal, and could reach the size of a large dog. The body was strong, the tail was short and the legs were strong and muscular. The skull was short and low, with a broad muzzle, swollen zygomatic processes, and a very small skull. The temporal fossae were deep, the sagittal crest prominent, and the coronoid process on the mandible was very high; these characteristics indicate a more developed temporal musculature (useful for chewing) than that of the subsequent pantodonts.

Like all pantodonts, ''Bemalambda'' had upper premolars with V-shaped ectolofi; the upper molars, however, had a transverse structure, almost zalambdodonte, with closely paired paracone and metaconus, and did not possess the dilambdodont W-shaped structure like the typical pantodonts. The stylar platform of the teeth from the third premolar to the third molar was very broad, and the ``ectoflexus'' (an additional external indentation of the molars) was deeply incised.

Classification

The genus ''Bemalambda'' was established in 1973 on the basis of some fossils found in the area of Nanxiong in the Lofochai formation ( Guangdong, China), dating back to the lower/middle Paleocene. The study by Chow and colleagues established various species: ''Bemalambda crassa, Bemalambda nanhsiungensis'' (the type species), ''Bemalambda pachyoesteus'', distinguished on the basis of some dental characteristics. Subsequently, in Jiangxi, fossils of a slightly more recent species (Middle Paleocene) were found, ''B. dingae''.

''Bemalamb