The numbat Myrmecobius has a new nesting partner: Early Cretaceous Eomaia
The extant termite-eating numbat, Myrmecobius,
(Fig 1) has been difficult to nest. This taxon is also known as the banded anteater.
Recent housekeeping
in the large reptile tree (LRT, 2338 taxa) now recovers Myrmecobius with an early marsupial, Early Cretaceous Eomaia, originally considered the earliest eutherian despite those pesky prepubic bones and that pre-placental nesting.
Myrmecobius differs from Eomaia principally in the large lumbar processes as in Orycteropus, the extant aardvark.
Figure 2. Extant Myrmecobius compared to extinct Eomaia and Acristatherium.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius_acristatherium588.jpg?w=230″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius_acristatherium588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-92960″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius_acristatherium588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Extant Myrmecobius compared to extinct Eomaia and Acristatherium.” width=”584″ height=”761″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius_acristatherium588.jpg?w=584&h=761 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius_acristatherium588.jpg?w=115&h=150 115w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius_acristatherium588.jpg?w=230&h=300 230w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius_acristatherium588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 2. Extant Myrmecobius compared to extinct Eomaia and Acristatherium.
Myrmecobius fasciatus
(Waterhouse 1841) is the extant numbat. Here it nests with Eomaia from the Early Cretaceous. The molars are simplified because this is a marsupial termite eater, convergent with placental termite- and ant-eaters. Over each orbit is an extension of the frontal, a pseudo-postfrontal or ‘eyebrow’.
Figure 2. Myrmecobius skeleton. Noe the large transverse lumbar proceses and long digging unguals.
” data-medium-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius.skeleton588.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius.skeleton588.jpg?w=584″ class=”size-full wp-image-92966″ src=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius.skeleton588.jpg” alt=”Figure 2. Myrmecobius skeleton. Noe the large transverse lumbar proceses and long digging unguals. ” width=”584″ height=”214″ srcset=”https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius.skeleton588.jpg?w=584&h=214 584w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius.skeleton588.jpg?w=150&h=55 150w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius.skeleton588.jpg?w=300&h=110 300w, https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/myrmecobius.skeleton588.jpg 588w” sizes=”(max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px” />
Figure 2. Myrmecobius skeleton. Noe the large transverse lumbar proceses and long digging unguals.
According to Wikipedia – Termite,
the fossil record for termites ALSO extends to the Early Cretaceous.
This appears to be a novel hypothesis of interrelationships.
If not, please provide a citation so I can promote it here.
References
Tate GHH 1951. The banded anteater, Myrmecobius Waterhouse (Marsupialia). American Museum Novitates 1521, 8 pp.
Waterhouse GR 1836. Myrmecobius fasciatus. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 4: 69–131.
Waterhouse GR 1841. Description of a new genus of mammiferous animals from Australia, belonging probably to the order Marsupialia. Trans. Zool. Soc., London2, aricle. 11, p 149.
Source: https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2025/05/23/the-numbat-myrmecobius-has-a-new-nesting-partner-early-cretaceous-eomaia/
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