Shijie Li, Oscar Sanisidro, Shiqi Wang, Rong Yang, Tao Deng
{"title":"New materials of Pliorhinus ringstroemi from the Linxia Basin (Late Miocene, eastern Asia) and their taxonomical and evolutionary implications","authors":"Shijie Li, Oscar Sanisidro, Shiqi Wang, Rong Yang, Tao Deng","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09698-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09698-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A large collection of dicerorhine rhinoceros remains, here identified as <i>Pliorhinus ringstroemi</i>, were studied from the Late Miocene deposits of the Linxia Basin, eastern Asia. The new specimens include several complete skulls with for the first-time preserved premaxillae, providing new knowledge on the morphology and allowing a preliminary investigation of the intraspecific variation of the species. The morphological study supports <i>Pliorhinus ringstroemi</i> as a valid species and phylogenetic analyses place it as the sister group of <i>P. megarhinus</i> and <i>P. miguelcrusafonti</i>. Compared with <i>P. megarhinus</i>, the unique characters of <i>P. ringstroemi</i> include the better developed and oval I1, tusk-like i2, complex secondary folds on upper cheek teeth, convex base of the mandibular corpus, and slightly different skull shape as supported by the geometric morphometric study. Our findings confirm the gradual reduction of incisors, elongated nasal, retracted nasal notch, and, finally, a developed bony nasal septum previously reported for Dicerorhina. The early age and primitive traits suggest that <i>Pliorhinus</i> could have originated in Asia and migrated to Europe at the latest Miocene, taking the niche of closely related species <i>Dihoplus pikermiensis</i> in Europe.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139584784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"First record of Posnanskytherium (Notoungulata, Toxodontidae) in the late Neogene of eastern Puna, Argentina","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09700-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09700-5","url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>Records of the toxodontid <em>Posnanskytherium</em> were only known from the Pliocene levels of the Bolivian Altiplano and southern Peru. <em>Posnanskytherium desaguaderoi</em> (type species), <em>P. inchasense</em>, <em>P. viscachanense</em>, and <em>P. pacis</em> are the four species recognized so far. In this contribution, we present the first remains of <em>Posnanskytherium desaguaderoi</em> (incomplete skull and fragmentary mandibles) from the Casira locality (Upper Member of the Tafna Formation, Pliocene), eastern Puna, Jujuy Province, Argentina, and provide an extended diagnosis of the genus and the type species. A new phylogenetic analysis recovers <em>Posnanskytherium</em> as a monophyletic clade, with <em>P. desaguaderoi</em> as the sister taxon of <em>P. inchasense</em> and <em>P. viscachanense</em>. The body mass calculated for all <em>Posnanskytherium</em> species indicates that <em>P. desaguaderoi</em> has an intermediate body mass between the higher values corresponding to <em>P. viscachanense</em> and <em>P. inchasense</em> and the lower value of <em>P. pacis</em>. This finding from the eastern Argentinean Puna constitutes the northernmost record of a toxodontid in Argentina, the first appearance of <em>Posnanskytherium</em> in the country, the southernmost record of the genus, and it reinforces the paleofaunistic similarity with the Bolivian Altiplano. Evidence shows that the genus <em>Posnanskytherium</em> had a wide distribution during the late Neogene, ranging from southern Peru to northern Argentina, reaching a greater diversification in the Bolivian Altiplano during the Pliocene.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139584777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Craniometric variation and taxonomic boundaries in the Madras Treeshrew (Scandentia, Tupaiidae: Anathana ellioti [Waterhouse, 1850]) from India","authors":"Maya M. Juman, Link E. Olson, Eric J. Sargis","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09694-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09694-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Madras Treeshrew, <i>Anathana ellioti</i> (Waterhouse, 1850), is a small, poorly studied mammal from South Asia. It is the only treeshrew found across the southern half of the Indian subcontinent and is the westernmost member of its order (Scandentia). The phylogenetic relationship between <i>Anathana</i> and its putative sister genus, <i>Tupaia</i>, remains unresolved, and the morphological differences between these two genera have yet to be analyzed with craniometric data. Here we describe some features that distinguish <i>Anathana</i> from other treeshrews. However, our comparative morphometric analyses reveal that <i>Anathana</i> overlaps with <i>Tupaia</i> in morphospace; it is smaller than most species (including the only other species found on the Indian mainland, <i>T. belangeri</i>) but larger than <i>T. minor</i>, <i>Dendrogale melanura</i>, and <i>Ptilocercus lowii</i>. At the infraspecific level, there is some separation between eastern and western populations, but this requires further investigation with larger sample sizes. Unfortunately, <i>Anathana</i> is disproportionately scarce in museum collections relative to other scandentians, and additional biological surveys across South India will be critical for future research on the taxonomy, distribution, and conservation of this elusive taxon.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139552776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Faggi, S. Bartolini-Lucenti, J. Madurell-Malapeira, A. V. Abramov, A. Y. Puzachenko, Q. Jiangzuo, L. Peiran, L. Rook
{"title":"Quaternary Eurasian badgers: Intraspecific variability and species validity","authors":"A. Faggi, S. Bartolini-Lucenti, J. Madurell-Malapeira, A. V. Abramov, A. Y. Puzachenko, Q. Jiangzuo, L. Peiran, L. Rook","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09696-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09696-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fossil badgers of the genus <i>Meles</i> are known in Eurasia since the Late Pliocene but their record is utterly scarce, often represented by isolated remains. This led to taxonomic confusion and hindered phylogenetic reconstruction of the genus. Here we describe in detail all the material attributed to <i>M. thorali</i> from the Early Pleistocene locality of Saint-Vallier, including several new complete crania. The results of comparative morphological and morphometric analyses allow reaffirming the distinction of <i>M. thorali</i> from <i>M. meles</i> and reassessing the status of other fossil species. All the analyzed European specimens between ca 2.8 and 1.5 Ma can be reasonably accommodated in a single species, <i>M. thorali</i>, while in Asia the diversity is higher, with up to four taxa described. Our analyses support previous interpretations of a close relationship between <i>M. teilhardi</i> with <i>M. thorali</i>. The European <i>Meles meles</i> appeared around 1.5 Ma and became the only badger present in European sites. We can therefore assume that the radiation of the genus <i>Meles</i> occurred during the general climatic changes that took place during the latest Pliocene and the beginning of Pleistocene and resulting environmental shifts across Eurasia.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139552463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qiaohui Hu, Roger S. Seymour, Edward P. Snelling, Rod T. Wells
{"title":"Blood flow rate to the femur of extinct kangaroos implies a higher locomotor intensity compared to living hopping macropods","authors":"Qiaohui Hu, Roger S. Seymour, Edward P. Snelling, Rod T. Wells","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09701-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09701-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The stocky skeletons and post-cranial anatomy of many extinct kangaroos indicate that they might have engaged in varied locomotor behaviors, rather than bipedal hopping, as their primary mode of locomotion. This study investigates support for this idea by estimating femoral bone perfusion, which is a correlate of locomotor intensity, in extinct kangaroos compared to living hopping species. Femur blood flow rates can be estimated from the sizes of nutrient foramina on the femur shaft of living and extinct species, without preservation of soft tissue. Estimated femur blood flow rates among the extinct <i>Macropus</i>, <i>Protemnodon</i> and Sthenurinae (<i>Sthenurus</i>, <i>Simosthenurus</i> and <i>Procoptodon</i>) are not significantly different from one another but are significantly greater than in living hopping macropods after accounting for the effect of body mass, consistent with their purportedly different locomotor style. The giant sthenurines have more robust femora than extrapolated from data of living hopping macropods, possibly due to the larger sthenurines requiring relatively stronger leg bones to support their heavier body weights, especially if loaded onto a single limb during bipedal striding.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139510011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rodrigo Antonio Fernandes, Isabelle Leite Miam, Guilherme da Silva Rogério, Luciana Del Rio Pinoti, Fabiano Antonio Cadioli, Yuri Tani Utsunomiya
{"title":"Comparative craniometric analysis between two species of South American canids and domestic dogs","authors":"Rodrigo Antonio Fernandes, Isabelle Leite Miam, Guilherme da Silva Rogério, Luciana Del Rio Pinoti, Fabiano Antonio Cadioli, Yuri Tani Utsunomiya","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09697-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09697-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A comparative craniometric analysis among maned wolves (<i>Chrysocyon brachyurus</i>, n = 9), crab-eating foxes (<i>Cerdocyon thous</i>, n = 8) and domestic dogs (<i>Canis lupus familiaris</i>, n = 124) was performed. A total of 18 craniometric measurements were taken from these specimens, and eight craniometric indices were further computed from those measurements. Using correlation analysis, we found that the 26 variables could be clustered into four groups, namely: (1) indicators of rostro-caudal length; (2) ventro-dorsal height and latero-lateral width; (3) cranial indices; and (4) dimensions of the foramen magnum. Consequently, multivariate techniques were applied to the data in order to reduce dimensionality and thus facilitate the comparisons among domestic and wild species. The projection of the data into the lower-dimensional space created by a principal component analysis showed that skulls of crab-eating foxes resembled small mesaticephalic skulls of domestic dogs, whereas the skulls of maned wolves were closer to those of larger dolichocephalic dogs. However, both species shared similarities with the mesaticephalic and dolichocephalic morphotypes of domestic dogs when variables were considered individually. Importantly, the variation in skull morphology found in the wild specimens was significantly smaller than that found in domestic dogs. These findings suggest an evolutionary constraint to skull shape diversity in maned wolves and crab-eating foxes, which seems consistent with adaptation to a generalist omnivorous diet.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139497310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gary S. Morgan, Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Aldo F. Rincon, Jonathan I. Bloch, Aaron R. Wood, Bruce J. MacFadden
{"title":"A new early Miocene bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from Panama confirms middle Cenozoic chiropteran dispersal between the Americas","authors":"Gary S. Morgan, Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Aldo F. Rincon, Jonathan I. Bloch, Aaron R. Wood, Bruce J. MacFadden","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09690-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09690-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fossils of an insectivorous bat from the early Miocene of Panama are described as a new genus and species, <i>Americanycteris cyrtodon</i> (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Phyllostominae). <i>Americanycteris</i> is a large phyllostomine bat, similar in size to the living species <i>Chrotopterus auritus</i>. <i>Americanycteris cyrtodon</i> can be distinguished from other closely related species by a posteriorly curved p4 and a thick labial cingulum on m1. <i>Americanycteris cyrtodon</i> occurs in two early Miocene vertebrate faunas from Panama. The holotype mandible with p4–m1 and an isolated p3 of <i>A. cyrtodon</i> were recovered from the early Hemingfordian (19–18 Ma) Centenario Fauna, and a mandible with p2 was found in the older late Arikareean (21 Ma) Lirio Norte Local Fauna. A similar large phyllostomine bat is known from the early Miocene Gran Barranca Fauna in Argentina. The presence of early Miocene phyllostomids in both North America and South America confirms the overwater dispersal of bats between the Americas before the late Miocene onset of the Great American Biotic Interchange. Pre-late Miocene chiropteran dispersals between the Americas were previously documented for the Emballonuridae and Molossidae. Although the five endemic New World families in the Noctilionoidea, including Phyllostomidae, were previously thought to be South American in origin, the oldest fossil records of noctilionoids (Mormoopidae and extinct Speonycteridae) are from the early Oligocene of Florida and one of the earliest records of the Phyllostomidae is from the early Miocene of Panama. The currently available fossil records from Panama and Florida suggest a possible North American origin for the Noctilionoidea.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138539983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"New materials of Lophiomeryx (Artiodactyla: Lophiomerycidae) from the Oligocene of Nei Mongol, China","authors":"Bian Wang, Qian Wang, Zhao-Qun Zhang","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09691-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09691-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fossil teeth representing four species of <i>Lophiomeryx</i> are identified from early Oligocene strata in the Saint Jacques area of Nei Mongol, including <i>L. shinaoensis</i>, <i>L. gracilis</i>, <i>L.</i> cf. <i>chalaniati</i>, and <i>L. triangularis</i> sp. nov. This represents the highest species richness of this early traguline from a single stratigraphic sequence. The new materials expand the spatiotemporal ranges of <i>L. shinaoensis</i> and <i>L. gracilis</i>, which are previously known from the late Eocene of Guizhou, south China. We present further morphological details that support the validity of the original taxonomy for the Guizhou materials. <i>L.</i> cf. <i>chalaniati</i> resembles the type species morphologically but is smaller than European specimens. <i>L. triangularis</i> sp. nov. is the last to appear in the sequence, and it is notably larger and more high-crowned than all the other known species of <i>Lophiomeryx</i>. Aside from the dental materials, we report the first known skull of <i>L. gracilis</i>, collected from a nearby locality, Qianlishan. While the overall skull morphology is primitive for tragulines, the specimen preserves a closed postorbital bar, a derived feature that was previously thought to be absent in <i>Lophiomeryx</i>. Our new specimens shed light on the diversity, biogeography, and ecology of this basal ruminant as well as on the evolution of early tragulines.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138539952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A new spiral-horned antelope, Gazellospira tsaparangensis sp. nov., from Pliocene Zanda Basin in Himalaya Mountain","authors":"Xiaoming Wang, Qiang Li, Z. Jack Tseng","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09692-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09692-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Explorations in the past 20 years in the Plio-Pleistocene Zanda Basin (3,800–4,500 m above sea level) along the northern slopes of the Himalaya Mountains have substantially enriched our understanding of the paleoenvironments of the Tibetan Plateau and associated biologic evolution. Many elements of the mammalian fauna recovered are either new to science or shed new light about their special adaptations in this high elevation basin. Here we describe a new species of twisted-horned antelope, <i>Gazellospira tsaparangensis</i>, with a heteronymous spiral. Its small size and primitive morphology, such as relatively short horncore with less twisting, thin frontal bones, a lack of frontal and horncore sinuses, small size of supraorbital foramina, and lack of an anterior keel, helps to place it at the base of genus <i>Gazellospira</i>, substantially more stem-ward than the type species <i>G. torticornis</i> from the Plio-Pleistocene of Europe and western Asia. With an estimated age of 3.62 Ma, this also places <i>G. tsaparangensis</i> as one of the early occurrences in Eurasia, although some fragmentary records in Turkey may be slightly earlier. Considering this early appearance and primitive morphology, <i>G. tsaparangensis</i> once again may be a case of the ‘out-of-Tibet’ model of megafauna origin, with earlier progenitors adapted to cold environments in high Tibet before expanding their range to the rest of Eurasia.</p>","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138539954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Adrian Troyelli, Guillermo Hernán Cassini, German Tirao, Alberto Boscaini, Juan Carlos Fernicola
{"title":"Endocranial cast anatomy of the Early Miocene glyptodont Propalaehoplophorus australis (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Cingulata) and its evolutionary implications","authors":"Adrian Troyelli, Guillermo Hernán Cassini, German Tirao, Alberto Boscaini, Juan Carlos Fernicola","doi":"10.1007/s10914-023-09689-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-023-09689-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50158,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Mammalian Evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135091720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}