New Bovid fossils from the Late Miocene Hasnot (Siwaliks,Pakistan)

The Siwalik Late Miocene bovids from the Hasnot deposits of Northern Pakistan are described here. The bovids are represented predominantly by boselaphines. The Hasnot outcrops range 7–5 Ma and correspond to the fauna of the Late Miocene–Early Pliocene of Eurasia and Africa. The associated fauna of Hasnot is suggestive a vast open land environment depicting sporadic dry and flood seasons, forcing a mosaic of ecotonal habitats with countless number of niches.     

起源于北极地区的海兽

现代的鳍脚亚目哺乳动物包括海豹（见题图）、海狮和海象等海兽,它们是半水生、通常海生的食肉动物,其四肢已进化为鳍状肢。最近的系统发育研究根据形态方面及分子生物学方面的证据支持了鳍脚亚目为单系类群的观点,     

Miocene hyaenids (Hyaenidae; Carnivora) from Siwaliks of Pakistan

Newly discovered Miocene hyaenid specimens, recently collected from the Siwalik Group, are described and discussed. A careful comparison with the known material reveals that these specimens belong to the early hyaenid species Thalassictis cf. T. proava, Ictitherine indet. and Lepthyaena sivalensis. The stratigraphic range of T. proava extended up to the Dhok Pathan Formation (Middle Miocene to Early Pliocene). The stratigraphic range of T. proava comprises the Middle to Late Miocene, with the youngest record in Hasnot, Potwar Plateau in the Siwalik Group. The material is of great interest because Siwalik carnivoran material is rare.     

A new baleen whale from the Late Miocene of Denmark and early mysticete hearing

Abstract:  The extinct mysticete fauna of the North East Atlantic is primarily known from the abundant but fragmented Belgian specimens. Compared to the well-preserved contemporary mysticete fauna from deposits in North America, there are only few near complete European Miocene mysticete fossils. Presented here is a new, almost complete fossil baleen whale Uranocetus gramensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Miocene Gram Formation in South West Denmark. It is the first stem-balaenopterid that has an initial stage of reduction in the mandibular cavity and a rostral configuration that is intermediate between that of other stem-balaenopterids and true balaenopterids. It is likely that Uranocetus used a gulp feeding technique that approaches that of balaenopterids. Details of the periotic and mandibular morphology place Uranocetus in the family Diorocetidae Steeman 2007. The large mandibular cavity in Uranocetus and most other extinct mysticetes, when compared to the reduced condition in recent mysticetes, is not an indication that early mysticetes used odontocete-like echolocation. In Uranocetus and a distantly related mysticete, high frequency sounds in the range odontocetes use for echolocation would suffer a significant volume loss across the lateral mandibular wall on the passage towards the inner ear. A reduction in the mandibular cavity in separate evolutionary lineages of mysticetes may be the result of a shift towards the use of low frequency sounds.     

A new hominoid hamate and first metacarpal from the Late Miocene Nagri Formation of Pakistan

A hamate and the proximal part of a first metacarpal from the type locality of the Nagri Formation in Pakistan, and attributed to Sivapithecus parvada, are described. In overall proportions, the hamate is rather robust, showing most similarity to that of Gorilla. Unlike extant hominoids it lacks a well-developed hamulus, and its triquetral facet is morphologically dissimilar to that in extant anthropoids. The morphology of the hamate indicates effective weight transmission through the ulnar side of the wrist, limited ulnar deviation and restricted extension in the triquetrohamate joint, and stability of the hamatometacarpal joints. The morphology of the partial first metacarpal is most similar to that of Pan. Previously described postcranial bones of S. parvada indicate that its locomotor behaviour included both quadrupedalism and climbing. This is consistent with the limited evidence of the first metacarpal, whereas the hamate strongly emphasizes the quadrupedal aspect of the locomotor repertoire.     

Multiple Miocene Melastomataceae dispersal between Madagascar, Africa and India

Melastomataceae sensu stricto (excluding Memecylaceae) comprise some 3000 species in the neotropics, 1000 in Asia, 240 in Africa, and 230 in Madagascar. Previous family-wide morphological and DNA analyses have shown that the Madagascan species belong to at least three unrelated lineages, which were hypothesized to have arrived by trans-oceanic dispersal. An alternative hypothesis posits that the ancestors of Madagascan, as well as Indian, Melastomataceae arrived from Africa in the Late Cretaceous. This study tests these hypotheses in a Bayesian framework, using three combined sequence datasets analysed under a relaxed clock and simultaneously calibrated with fossils, some not previously used. The new fossil calibration comes from a re-dated possibly Middle or Upper Eocene Brazilian fossil of Melastomeae. Tectonic events were also tentatively used as constraints because of concerns that some of the family's fossils are difficult to assign to nodes in the phylogeny. Regardless of how the data were calibrated, the estimated divergence times of Madagascan and Indian lineages were too young for Cretaceous explanations to hold. This was true even of the oldest ages within the 95% credibility interval around each estimate. Madagascar's Melastomeae appear to have arrived from Africa during the Miocene. Medinilla, with some 70 species in Madagascar and two in Africa, too, arrived during the Miocene, but from Asia. Gravesia, with 100 species in Madagascar and four in east and west Africa, also appears to date to the Miocene, but its monophyly has not been tested. The study afforded an opportunity to compare divergence time estimates obtained earlier with strict clocks and single calibrations, with estimates based on relaxed clocks and different multiple calibrations and taxon sampling.     

A new suiform (Artiodactyla,Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of East Africa

Fossils of an unnamed large suiform have been recovered from two Early Miocene localities in East Africa. The material is distinct from other species of the suborder, including the anthracothere Brachyodus aequatorialis, which is of similar size. The upper molars of the new form are bunodont, quadricuspidate (with a tiny paraconule), and have no buccal styles (parastyle, mesostyle, metastyle) and the enamel is thin and lightly wrinkled to smooth, which contrasts strongly with upper molars of Brachyodus which are pentacuspidate, selenodont, have pervasively wrinkled enamel and well-developed parastyle, mesostyle and metastyle. A new genus and species is erected for this suiform, which is most likely an anthracothere.     

A Pelican Tarsometatarsus (Aves: Pelecanidae) from the Latest Pliocene Siwaliks of India

We report a new fossil specimen of a pelican from the Tatrot Formation of the Siwalik Hills, India. It likely represents Pelecanus sivalensis Davies, 1880, the smaller of the two previously published species from the Siwalik Group stratigraphic sequence. This complete tarsometatarsus is the first fossil bone of a pelican collected in India for over 100 years. It is from the latest Pliocene (∼2.6 Ma), and is the youngest pelican fossil from the region. The new specimen exhibits a derived distoplantar ‘slant’ to the plantar margin of the medial crest of the hypotarsus, and a combination of features related to the morphology of the hypotarsus, the distal foramen, trochleae, and overall size that allow further differentiation from known tarsometatarsi of fossil and extant pelicans, including the three species of extant pelicans that occur in India (Pelecanus crispus, P. onocrotalus, and P. philippensis). It is of appropriate size for Pelecanus sivalensis, which to date has been known only by fragments of other skeletal elements of the wing, leg, and shoulder girdle. Thus, the observation that this tarsometatarsus is morphologically distinct from those of known pelicans provides further support for the distinctiveness of at least one extinct species of pelican from the Siwalik Group sediments. While the morphology of the tarsometatarsus allows for separation from other taxa known from tarsometatarsi, we found no clear shared derived states to place this taxon with any confidence in a phylogenetic context relative to any other pelican species, or even determine if it is part of the crown group of Pelecanidae. However, published molecular data are consistent with an origin of the crown clade prior to the Pleistocene, suggesting (along with one morphological character) the possibility that this species belongs to the Old World clade of pelican species.     

The differentiation of bunodont Listriodontinae (Mammalia,Suidae) of Africa: new data from Kalodirr and Moruorot,Kenya

The early Miocene sites of Moruorot and Kalodirr (Kenya, 17.5 Myr) have yielded a rich collection of mammals. New listriodont material from these localities, including a complete skull and a partial mandible, provide long awaited information on cranial features of early bunodont Listriodontinae. The evolution and systematics of the group are highly debated, especially regarding its first representatives. The new material described here sheds light on the differentiation of bunodont Listriodontinae in Africa and clarifies the systematics of the group. The first phylogenetic analysis of the Listriodontinae is here performed and supports close relationships between Kubanochoerus and a clade (Eurolistriodon, Listriodon). Lopholistriodon is the most basal representative of the listriodontine clade. These first results stress the role of the African continent in the biogeographical history of the Listriodontinae. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 157 , 653–678.     

A new hipparion (Mammalia,Perissodactyla) from the Vallesian (Late Miocene) of Greece

A small hipparion from the Vallesian (early Late Miocene) of Northern Greece is studied. It is coming from the locality “Ravin de la Pluie” of the lower Axios valley, near Thessaloniki. Its characteristics as the small size, the short symphysis, the long snout, the high enamel plication, the well developed protostylid, the large m₃ and the elongated m₁-m₃ series distinguish it from the other known eurasiatic small hipparions, allowed us to derive a new species,Hipparion macedonicum. It lived during Vallesian and can be used as a stratigraphic species for this period.     

Late Miocene lagomorphs from the Republic of Moldova

The aim of this paper is to enlarge knowledge about still poorly documented and understood record of Lagomorpha (Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Moldova. The lagomorph material from two new Late Miocene localities, Razeni (MN11/12), Gradishte (MN12), and re-sampling locality Chimislyia (MN12), of Southern Moldova, is described in detail here. The localities yielded small vertebrate fauna including five lagomorph taxa: Prolagus cf. oeningensis, “Proochotona” cf. eximia, Alilepus laskarewi, “Proochotona” sp., and Alilepus sp. P. cf. oeningensis is described for the first time in the studied area. A short review of the lagomorph record from the Republic of Moldova is provided. This contribution outlines the importance of the lagomorphs for biostratigraphic purposes, and highlighs the gaps in our knowledge related to the faunal succession in this area.     

A new short-snouted shrew from the Miocene of Spain

A new Miocene shrew from east Central Spain is described. The new form, named Turiasorex pierremeini nov. gen., nov. sp., was found in 13-10–Ma old sediments of the Calatayud-Daroca and Teruel basins. It is characterized by an extreme dental morphology consisting of elements with low length-width ratios, implying a relatively short snout. Such an adaptation could point to a hypogeal life style – using burrows made by other mammals – with a non-standard shrew diet consisting not only of insects, but also of earthworms and possibly small vertebrates such as lizards.     

First mammal evidence from the Late Cretaceous of India for biotic dispersal between India and Africa at the KT transition

The Late Cretaceous record of mammals from India assumes great significance in view of the fact that it is the only Gondwanan landmass that has yielded definitive eutherian mammals. These mammals have variously been assigned to palaeoryctids, archontans or Eutheria incertae sedis. Well preserved lower molars recovered from a new mammal-yielding Deccan intertrappean site near Kisalpuri village, Dindori District, Madhya Pradesh (state), India, are described here under a new species Deccanolestes narmadensis sp. nov. The new fossil material indicates close phylogenetic relationship between Deccanolestes from India and Afrodon (Adapisoriculidae) from the Late Palaeocene of Africa and Europe. In view of older age and more primitive state of Deccanolestes teeth, it is inferred that Deccanolestes represents an ancestral morphotype from which the African/European adapisoriculid Afrodon may have been derived. This is the first compelling terrestrial fossil evidence for an early dispersal between India and Africa. Such a dispersal possibly involved an East African contact with India at the KT transition.     

A new species of Diplacanthus from the Late Devonian (Famennian) of South Africa

An advanced diplacanthid (Climatiiformes) is described from a Famennian estuariee environment of South Africa. It is characterized by having exceptionally long thin fin spines and a deep body form. Unusual details of the fins and fm spine insertions are preserved. This is the first record of a diplacanthid from the Southern Hemisphere.     

A Maeotian (Late Miocene) freshwater fish-fauna from Romania

Isolated pharyngeal teeth, pectoral, dorsal and suborbital fish spines were unearthed in a new outcrop located on the right bank of the Prut River, at F?lciu, Romania. They document Late Miocene aquatic ecosystems of the Dacian basin. Seven taxa were identified and described, six of them belonging to the order Cypriniformes and one to Siluriformes. The Cobitidae is here firstly reported in the fossil record of Romania. All the fish teeth and skeletal remains are from representatives marking shallow water. The fossils were probably buried into sediments accumulated near the mouth of a rather fast-flowing river that drained into a brackish body of water, part of the Dacian basin. The composition of the fauna is similar to the coeval ones from the North (Ukraine and Republic of Moldova) and from the South (Turkey) of the Black Sea basin.     

A new Miocene small-bodied ape from Kenya

A new genus of small-bodied ape from Kalodirr, a Miocene site in northern Kenya, is described. It is compared with other recognized genera of small apes from the Miocene of East Africa and found to show closer similarities with Dendropithecus than with either Limnopithecus or Micropithecus. Among the recognized genera of larger Miocene hominoids it shares most features with Rangwapithecus but is distinguished by details of its dental morphology.     

Leftover prey remains: a new taphonomic mode from the Late Miocene Cerro Azul Formation of Central Argentina

The Cerro Azul Formation (La Pampa Province, Argentina) comprises a rich vertebrate fauna of small mammals dominated by notoungulates and rodents. The fauna pertains to the Late Miocene specifically to the Huayquerian Stage/Age. Taphonomic analysis of micro‐mammals from Estancia Ré locality evidenced that the faunal assemblage was accumulated by the activity of a predator. This assemblage was compared with others from the Cerro Azul Formation in Telén and Caleufú localities (La Pampa Province), previously interpreted as products of predator activities. These microfossil accumulations differ from assemblages attributed to pellets and faeces produced by modern predators (nocturnal and diurnal bird raptors and carnivore mammals). However, due to their anatomical representation, degree of bone breakage and presence of tooth marks, they are interpreted as accumulations of uneaten prey remains discarded by the predator. The predator involved could not be determined with certainty, although the presence of tooth marks in some skeletal remains and the presence of coprolites in Telén and Caleufú suggest that it could be a carnivore mammal. Similarities in the accumulation mechanism, patterns of preservation and sedimentary contexts in the three assemblages support the recognition of a new taphonomic mode, termed ‘leftover prey remains’.