Anagale is an extinct genus of mammal from the early Oligocene of Mongolia. Its closest living relatives are the rodents and lagomorphs.

Anagale
Temporal range: Early Oligocene
Restoration of A. gobiensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Anagaloidea
Family: Anagalidae
Genus: Anagale
Simpson, 1931
Species:
A. gobiensis
Binomial name
Anagale gobiensis
Simpson, 1931

Anagale was 30 cm (1 ft) long and resembled a rabbit, but with a longer tail. Also, the build of its hind legs indicates that it walked, and did not hop. Judging from its shovel-shaped claws, Anagale burrowed for food, such as subterranean beetles and worms. Anagale fossils have strongly worn teeth from eating soil, further indicating it ate subterranean invertebrates.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 210. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.