New proconsuloid postcranials from the early Miocene of Kenya

New early Miocene forelimb fossils have been recovered from the Songhor and Lower Kapurtay localities in southwestern Kenya. We describe four specimens that are similar in size and functional capabilities. Their specific allocation is problematic but these forelimb specimens must belong to either Rangwapithecus gordoni or Proconsul africanus. If these new postcranial specimens should belong to R. gordoni, on the basis of size and common dental specimens found at Songhor, they represent a new elbow complex. The morphology of these fossils is anatomically and functionally similar to that of Proconsul. The proconsuloid elbow complex allows extensive forelimb rotations and is capable of performing arboreal quadrupedalism and climbing activities. No suspensory adaptations are apparent. The proconsuloid elbow complex remains a good ancestral condition for hominoid primates.     

A Rangwapithecus gordoni mandible from the early Miocene site of Songhor,Kenya

A mandible of Rangwapithecus gordoni from the early Miocene site of Songhor, Kenya, provides additional information about this relatively poorly known taxon. The R. gordoni sample is small, being composed of dental and a few gnathic parts. The fossil described here provides examples of previously unknown dental and mandibular anatomy, and confirms former reassignments of isolated anterior teeth based on less certain evidence. The phylogenetic status of Rangwapithecus, its distribution, and paleobiology are briefly reviewed. Rangwapithecus shows a suite of dental and gnathic features that warrants its generic distinction from Proconsul. Derived features shared with Nyanzapithecus and Turkanapithecus indicate that it is an early member of the subfamily Nyanzapithecinae. Its molar morphology suggests a considerable component of folivory in its diet. A review of the hypodigm shows Rangwapithecus to be restricted to Songhor. This distribution parallels that of Limnopithecus evansi, and is mirrored by Limnopithecus legetet and Micropithecus clarki suggesting that Songhor may have differed ecologically from other more or less contemporary sites in the region.     

A cercopithecid primate from the late miocene of Molayan,Afghanistan, with remarks onMesopithecus

The first fossil primate discovered in Afghanistan comes from the Late Miocene of Molayan, Khurdkabul Basin. The materials consist of an almost-complete juvenile mandible and an isolated P₃. These two specimens do not significantly differ from thePikermi Mesopithecus pentelicus and are assigned to this species. The primate mandible from the Late Miocene of Maragheh, Iran, which has always been referred by all authors toM. pentelicus, differs from the Pikermi and Molayan materials. It must be assigned to another taxon, probably a new one. The geographic range ofM. pentelicus turns out to be considerably wider in view of the discovery of the species in Molayan, eastern Afghanistan.     

New specimen of Conohyus indicus (Lydekker, 1884) (Mammalia: Suidae) from the base of the Late Miocene, Jammu, India

Conohyus indicus is a poorly known tetraconodont suid from the summit of the Lower Siwaliks and the base of the Middle Siwaliks of the Indian Subcontinent. Even though it was first recorded well over a century ago, only 13 specimens have since been described in the literature, consisting of isolated teeth and incomplete mandible and maxilla fragments. We here describe another fragmentary mandible from the Ramnagar Member (uppermost Middle Miocene to basal Late Miocene) of the Siwalik Group, which contains the left canine lacking its tip, the alveolus of P/1 and the left P/2 – P/3 and right P/3 - M/1. The new specimen, albeit incomplete,provides interesting information about the anterior parts of the jaw and throws light on the systematic position of the species as well as the recently described species Conohyus thailandicus from Thailand.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eumyarion</Emphasis> (Mammalia,Rodentia, Muridae) assemblage from Sandelzhausen (Miocene,Southern Germany): a test on homogeneity

A large sample of Eumyarion cheek teeth (N = 569) from the Early/Middle Miocene boundary locality Sandelzhausen (MN5, Southern Germany), type locality E. bifidus Fahlbusch, 1964, is studied. It is concluded that this collection contains two species: E. bifidus and E. weinfurteri Schaub and Zapfe, 1953. The similarity in size and morphology of the cheek teeth of these two species is so great that only the M1 and M2 can be recognised with certainty. Eumyarion bifidus seems to be a descendant of E. orhani de Bruijn et al., 2006 from the Early Miocene (MN3) of Southwestern Anatolia and is therefore considered to be an immigrant into Central Europe.      

Dental variability inSaimiri and the taxonomic status ofNeosaimiri fieldsi,an early squirrel monkey from La Venta,Colombia

Neosaimiri fieldsi, from the South American middle Miocene locality of La Venta, is represented by a relatively complete mandible and dentition that strongly resembles that of extantSaimiri. Comparison with a large sample of mandibles ofSaimiri indicates that this specimen cannot be distinguished from modern populations on the basis of any reportedly diagnostic feature, such as cingulid development, molar length ratio, trigonic/talonid ratio, or mandibular depth. The fossil is best considered an extinct species of the modern genusSaimiri until further material indicates otherwise.     

Upperlimb skeletal elements of miocene cercopithecoids from east Africa: Implications for function and taxonomy

Old collections and unpublished newly-discovered specimens of Miocene cercopithecoids studied here include humeri and proximal ulnae from Maboko (KNM MB 2, KNM MB 3, KNM MB 19, KNM MB 32, KNM MB 12038, KNM MB 12044), Nyakach (KNM NC 9824) in Kenya and from Napak (NAP V-8.85) in Uganda. This work leads to the conclusion that two different groups of monkeys may have co-existed in East Africa in the Middle Miocene. After comparison with extant cercopithecoids (Colobus polykomos, Colobus badius, Colubus angolensis, Colobus guereza, Cercopithecus aethiops, Cercopithecus ascanius, Nasalis larvatus, Presbytis entellus and severalPapio andMacaca), the fossils can be divided into two morphological groups. In the distal humerus, the shape of thetrochlea humeri and the orientation of theepicondylus medialis are distinctive; in the ulnae, the distinction is mainly based on the morphology of theincisura trochlearis. Thus, we would have a more terrestrial group and a more arboreal one. The differences (not linked with sex) are large enough to indicate a taxonomic difference (as proposed on the teeth collected to the same sites, by several authors). At this stage, we cannot assign with certainty the specimens to one taxon or the other (Victoriapithecus macinnesi orVictoriapithecus leakeyi).     

The pigs and “Old World peccaries” (Suidae and Palaeochoeridae,Suoidea, Artiodactyla) from the Miocene of Sandelzhausen (southern Germany): phylogeny and an updated classification of the Hyotheriinae and Palaeochoeridae

The fossil remains of two species of Suoidea (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the Early/Middle Miocene locality of Sandelzhausen (MN5; Bavaria, Germany) are described. A skull and some isolated teeth and bones reveal hitherto unknown features of Schizoporcus muenzenbergensis, Schizoporcini, Taucanaminae, Palaeochoeridae (Old World peccaries), Suoidea. The phylogeny of the Taucanaminae is discussed and an updated classification of the Palaeochoeridae is presented. The new names Schizoporcus and Schizoporcini replace the junior homonyms Schizochoerus Crusafont and Lavocat (1954) and Schizochoerini Golpe-Posse (1974). Remains of several skulls and mandibles, over 50 associated tooth rows, over 300 isolated teeth, and over 200 bones, constitute one of the largest collections of a Miocene suid known, and are assigned to Hyotherium soemmeringi wylensis, Hyotheriini, Hyotheriinae, Suidae (pigs), Suoidea. Hyotherium is the oldest certain suid genus known and many assumed it to be one of the most primitive. While the postcranial bones of the Suidae and Palaeochoeridae differ in many ways, the bones of Hyotherium are already very similar in morphology to those of living pigs, although they are much more slender, suggesting that the genus was more fleet-footed. Features related to rooting behaviour indicate that Hyotherium was a more efficient rooter than Palaeochoeridae and living Dicotylidae, but not as efficient as living suids. The phylogeny of the Hyotheriinae is discussed. The subfamily is divided into Hyotheriini and Aureliachoerini, new tribe, and an updated classification is presented.     

A ctenodactylid rodent (Mammalia: Rodentia) from the Middle Miocene of Chios Island (Greece)

Field work carried out in 1991 and 1993 at the Middle Miocene locality of Thymiana (Chios Island, Greece), produced much rodent material including a number of ctenodactylid dental specimens. They represent a single taxon whose upper and lower cheek tooth morphology clearly differs from Prosayimys flynni and all Sayimys species known so far, except for Sayimys intermedius. The ctenodactylid teeth from the Middle Miocene of Chios are identified as pertaining to the latter species, despite minor differences from the Pakistani and Saudi Arabian representatives of S. intermedius.     

The juvenile mandible of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lufengpithecus</Emphasis>

The juvenile mandible ofLufengpithecus lufengensis (PA869) discovered in 1980 at back to latest Miocene lignite rich deposit in Shihuiba Village, Lufeng County, Yunnan Province in southwest of China is described in this study. The specimen was compared with the juvenile mandibles ofSivapithecus, Australopithecus, earlyHomo and extant great apes. Some characteristics of the juvenile mandible ofLufengpithecus indicate that the proportional relation between the length, the height and the thickness of the mandibular corpus are very similar to those of the adult mandible of same species. This Lufeng juvenile mandible is of a 3–3.5 years old female individual.     

ON ALLOPTOX (LAGOMORPHA, OCHOTONIDAE)FROM THE MIDDLE MIOCENE OF TONGXIN, NINGXIA HUI AUTONOMOUS REGION, CHINA

<正> Rather abundant sample of Alloptox, including skulls, maxillae, mandibles and isolated teeth, was collected from the middle Miocene of Tongxin County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region during the two field seasons in 1985 and 1986, when reconnaissance and geological mapping of the middle Miocene in this region were conducted by a joint party of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica (IVPP) and the Bureau of Geology, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The specimens came from 18 localities pertaining to 9 levels in a sequence of middle Miocene fluviatile sediments with a thickness of ca. 200m. Except for the specimens assigned to Alloptox sp. from locality Taoziliang, all are recognized as Alloptox gobiensis. The present paper deals with only their dental morphology which is probably phylogenetically significant. Altogether 327 specimens of Alloptox gobiensis and 27 specimens of Alloptox sp. have been described. The text figures are drawn by the authors and Mrs. Yang Mingwan. All teeth are presented as left ones, the abbreviatd word "inv" is used under the figures of right teeth. All specimens are stored in IVPP under the inventory number V8822-V8839. The authors are much obliged to Prof. Qiu Zhanxiang for reading and correcting the English version of this paper.     

New fossil anthropoids from the middle Miocene of East Africa and their bearing on the origin of the oreopithecidae

Recent paleontological collections at the middle Miocene locality of Maboko Island in Kenya, dated at 15-16 million years, have yielded numerous new specimens belonging to at least five species of fossil anthropoids. The most common species of ape at the site, a medium-sized primate with a very distinctive dental morphology, clearly represents a previously undescribed taxon. When compared with other Miocene anthropoids from East Africa, it has its closest affinities with the poorly known species Rangwapithecus vancouveringi from the early Miocene locality of Rusinga Island. The species from Maboko Island is described here as belonging to a new genus of fossil anthropoid, to which "Rangwapithecus" vancouveringi is also referred. The new genus has a highly distinctive suite of derived characters of its molars and premolars, which it shares with Oreopithecus bambolii from the late Miocene of Europe. These synapomorphies indicate a close phyletic relationship between the East African species and Oreopithecus and form the basis for the inclusion of these taxa in a single family, the Oreopithecidae Schwalbe, 1915. In many respects, however, the East African forms are more conservative than Oreopithecus, and in a general sense they can be regarded as an intermediate grade between Oreopithecus and the more generalized early Miocene catarrhines, the proconsuloids. There is, therefore, good fossil evidence to indicate that the origins of the Oreopithecidae can be traced back to the early Miocene of Africa.     

A NEW SPECIES OF THE WOMBAT WARENDJA FROM LATE MIOCENE DEPOSITS AT RIVERSLEIGH, NORTH-WEST QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Abstract:  A new species of the plesiomorphic wombat Warendja is described. Warendja encorensis sp. nov., the second species to be attributed to this genus, is known from a single fossil locality (Encore Site) at Riversleigh, north-west Queensland. Specimens of W. encorensis are limited to isolated teeth, two mandibular fragments and a maxillary fragment. Two molars preserve the unworn crown morphology. Encore Site has been estimated to be late Miocene in age, making these the only known specimens of Warendja to be clearly older than Pleistocene. Warendja encorensis is also the first described species of wombat from Miocene deposits to which hypselodont teeth have been attributed. It differs from W. wakefieldi in its larger size, distribution of enamel, and in details of the incisor and premolar morphology.     

Orycteropus (Tubulidentata, Mammalia) from Langebaanweg and Baard's Quarry, Early Pliocene of South Africa

Fossil teeth and bones of aardvarks are relatively common at Langebaanweg, an Early Pliocene site in western Cape Province, South Africa. The remains are compatible in size and most details of morphology to extant Orycteropus afer, and are the earliest fossils attributed to this species. Other Late Miocene to Early Pliocene localities in Africa have yielded smaller species of aardvarks, suggesting that the extant lineage evolved in southern Africa. Morphologically the genus Orycteropus has been remarkably conservative since at least the Early Miocene but it witnessed an overall increase in size through the Neogene. The species O. afer has been morphometrically stable since the Early Pliocene. These observations indicate that the evolutionary process in aardvarks is extremely bradytelic. To cite this article: M. Pickford, C. R. Palevol 4 (2005).     

New data on trematosauroid labyrinthodonts of Eastern Europe: 2. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trematosaurus galae</Emphasis> sp. nov.: Cranial morphology

The cranial morphology of a new species of the genus of Trematosaurus, T. galae sp. nov., represented by fragmentary specimens from the Lower Triassic Donskaya Luka locality (Volgograd Region), is described in detail. The diagnosis of the genus Trematosaurus is amended.     

The Late Miocene hominoids Ouranopithecus and Graecopithecus. Implications about their relationships and taxonomy

Two Late Miocene hominoids are known from Greece. The first, Graecopithecus freybergi, is known by a single mandible with the worn m2 from the locality of Pyrgos Vassilissis, near Athens. The other, Ouranopithecus macedoniensis, is known from Axios Valley and Chalkidiki (Macedonia, Greece) by a partial skull and a set of maxillary and mandibular remains. Some authors consider these two hominoids as synonyms and in the present article a detailed comparison of them is given. The morphology and size of the symphysis, the more robust mandible, the more open dental arcade of Ouranopithecus distinguishes it clearly from Graecopithecus. Moreover, the incompleteness of the mandible of Graecopithecus with the doubtful morphology and size, the limited material and the uncertain geological age of the locality cannot allow precise and clear comparisons with the rest extant and extinct hominoids. Thus in our opinion there are not enough data to support the similarity, and therefore, the synonymy of the two genera. The Pyrgos mandible must remain as a separate and isolated genus with one species, which only includes this sole mandible.     

New hominid fossils from Woranso‐Mille (Central Afar,Ethiopia) and taxonomy of early Australopithecus

The phylogenetic relationship between Australopithecus anamensis and Australopithecus afarensis has been hypothesized as ancestor‐descendant. However, the weakest part of this hypothesis has been the absence of fossil samples between 3.6 and 3.9 million years ago. Here we describe new fossil specimens from the Woranso‐Mille site in Ethiopia that are directly relevant to this issue. They derive from sediments chronometrically dated to 3.57–3.8 million years ago. The new fossil specimens are largely isolated teeth, partial mandibles, and maxillae, and some postcranial fragments. However, they shed some light on the relationships between Au. anamensis and Au. afarensis. The dental morphology shows closer affinity with Au. anamensis from Allia Bay/Kanapoi (Kenya) and Asa Issie (Ethiopia) than with Au. afarensis from Hadar (Ethiopia). However, they are intermediate in dental and mandibular morphology between Au. anamensis and the older Au. afarensis material from Laetoli. The new fossils lend strong support to the hypothesized ancestor‐descendant relationship between these two early Australopithecus species. The Woranso‐Mille hominids cannot be unequivocally assigned to either taxon due to their dental morphological intermediacy. This could be an indication that the Kanapoi, Allia Bay, and Asa Issie Au. anamensis is the primitive form of Au. afarensis at Hadar with the Laetoli and Woranso‐Mille populations sampling a mosaic of morphological features from both ends. It is particularly difficult to draw a line between Au. anamensis and Au. afarensis in light of the new discoveries from Woranso‐Mille. The morphology provides no evidence that Au. afarensis and Au. anamensis represent distinct taxa. Am J Phys Anthropol 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A non‐aquatic otter (Mammalia,Carnivora, Mustelidae) from the Late Miocene (Vallesian,MN 10) of La Roma 2 (Alfambra,Teruel, Spain): systematics and functional anatomy

A new genus and species of otter‐like mustelid, Teruelictis riparius, is created on the basis of a partial skeleton from the Late Miocene (Vallesian age, MN 10) locality of La Roma 2 (Teruel, Spain), including several postcranial elements, the skull, and the mandible. The combination of a typically lutrine dentition, similar to that of other fossil otters such as Paralutra jaegeri, with a very slender postcranial skeleton, including a long back and gracile long bones and metacarpals, thus lacking any aquatic adaptations, was previously unknown in the fossil record. This mosaic of features strongly suggests the possibility that the aquatic lifestyle of otters could have appeared after the initial development of the distinctive dental morphology of this specialized group of mustelids. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London