Leptictidium fossil map
Where fossils of Leptictidium have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 45 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 45 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 56–33.9 million years ago (Ypresian to Priabonian) |
| Periods | Paleogene |
| Family | Pseudorhyncocyonidae |
| Named by | Tobien 1962 |
| Fossil records | 24 occurrences at 8 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Germany, France, United Kingdom |
| Rock formations | txn:40266, Messel, Perrière, Blackheath Beds, Suffolk Pebble Beds, Woolwich |
About Leptictidium
Leptictidium is an extinct genus of small mammals that were likely bipedal. Comprising eight species, they resembled today's bilbies, bandicoots, and sengis, and occupied a similar niche. They are especially interesting for their combination of characteristics typical of primitive eutherians with highly specialized adaptations, such as powerful hind legs and a long tail which aided in locomotion. They were omnivorous, their diet a combination of insects, lizards, frogs, and small mammals. Leptictidium and other leptictids are not placentals, but are non-placental eutherians, although they are closely related to placental eutherians. They appeared in the Lower Eocene, a time of warm temperatures and high humidity, roughly fifty million years ago. Although they were widespread throughout Europe, they became extinct around thirty-five million years ago with no descendants, as they were adapted to live in forest ecosystems and were unable to adapt to the open plains of the Oligocene.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Leptictidium (revision 1375682341), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q477725.
