A new species of the ‘isectolophid’ Chowliia, C. europea, sp. nov., is described from the lowermost Eocene (MP7) Le Quesnoy locality of the Paris Basin. The new species is exclusively known by dental material, and it represents the earliest tapiromorph occurrence in Europe. The morphology of its bunolophodont molars indicates that C. europea is a tapiromorph, and it is here included in the primitive and probably paraphyletic family ‘Isectolophidae.’ Chowliia was previously restricted to the lowermost Eocene Wutu Formation (eastern China), and its occurrence in Europe indicates faunal interchange between continental Asia and western Europe as early as the earliest Eocene. A preliminary analysis of the phylogenetic position of C. europea supports the hypothesis that Chowliia is most closely related to Cardiolophus and to Homogalax wutuensis.