Primitive characters of
Henkelotherium (e.g. asymmetric condyles of the femur) indicate that this species had a mode of locomotion similar to
tree shrews and
opossums. The small size of
Henkelotherium and elongated tail made it suited to an arboreal lifestyle and capable of climbing trees, a notion supported by the paleoecological reconstruction of the Guimarota ecosystem indicating a densely vegetated environment. Based on its late growth of jaws and it possessing additional molars that erupted after antemolar replacement was completed,
Henkelotherium is believed to have had a long lifespan, a slower life history, or a combination of the two. == Taxonomy ==