Barylambda faberi. Illustration and photo-reconstruction of the Barylambda, a North American herbivore, walking in a glade against a backdrop of tropical vegetation. 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. Barylambda went extinct during late Paleocene, with the advent of Coryphodon, a genus of larger, more advanced, pantodonts. Barylambda probably resembled a large tapir or rhinoceros with a small head and long, well-developed tail and bear-like legs. It measured about 2.5 meters in length with a weight of around 650 kilograms, about the size of a pony. Barylambda was large even for a pantodont, and its size probably protected it from contemporary carnivores. |