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.     

Hippotraginae (Bovidae,Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Tuva

Fossil remains of Late Miocene (Baode, NMU10-NMU11) horse antelopes from Tuva (Russia) are described, including Tragoreas sp., Protoryx tuvaensis sp. nov. from the Taralyk Cher locality and Quirliqnoria sp. from the Kholu locality. A new species, Protoryx tuvaensis Dmitrieva et Serdyuk, is described. These taxa compose a Late Miocene antelope assemblage of a new eastern geographical point (Russia, Tuva, Baode, NMU10-MN11).     

Palaeoreas,Majoreas, and Stryfnotherium gen. nov. (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from the Late Miocene of Greece

A new comparative study of the two crania, LGPUT RZO-03 and LGPUT RZO-68 attributed to Palaeoreas zouavei Bouvrain, 1980 from the Late Miocene of Axios Valley, Greece reveals great morphological and metric differences between them, which require the exclusion of LGPUT RZO-68 from this species and even from Palaeoreas Gaudry, 1861. This decision leaves unsupported many diagnostic features of P. zouavei applied by previous authors and along with recent data from Bulgaria put in doubt the validity of P. zouavei as a whole. As a result, the genus Palaeoreas is re-defined as monotypic and the cranial morphometric changes of P. lindermayeri (Wagner, 1848) are discussed on a temporal basis. An updated taxonomic analysis confirms the presence of P. lindermayeri in the Late Turolian mammal assemblage of Dytiko-1 (Axios Valley, Greece) but rejects its occurrence at Dytiko-2. Instead, a re-examination of old cranial specimens and a study of new ones suggest the presence in both sites of Majoreas Kostopoulos, 2004 a Late Miocene taxon previously mostly known from the eastern banks of the Aegean Sea. A reassessment of the LGPUT RZO-68 cranium, and its comparison with Palaeoreas and Criotherium Forsyth-Major, 1891, suggests that it deserves taxonomic distinction at genus and species levels: Stryfnotherium exophthalmon.     

Late Miocene Microstonyx remains (Suidae, Mammalia) from Northern China

Several large suid cranial remains attributed to Microstonyx major are part of a new Hipparion Fauna collection from the Hezheng area, Northern China. The new material confirms the presence of Microstonyx in the late Miocene of the area. The Chinese form belongs to a small-sized eastern population with reduced premolar row and clear sexual bimodality. Statistical comparison shows that Microstonyx major was a polymorphic species and reinforces recognition of Hippopotamodon as a separate genus, defined by relatively stout premolars resulting from a different underlying pattern of allometric growth. The presence of Microstonyx in North China and the distinct suid assemblage that lived there suggest biogeographic connections between Northern China and Western Eurasia in contrast to isolation from Southern China and the Indian subcontinent. The suid fauna of the late Miocene of Northern China seems to have been restricted to the later, more humid phase represented by the Red Clay faunas.     

Late Miocene Proboscidea (Mammalia) from Macedonia and Samos Island, Greece: preliminary results

The abundant Late Miocene proboscidean remains of Greece have never been studied in detail and compared with those of Eurasia in order to determine their taxonomy and their biostratigraphical and palaeoecological significance. The first results of such study are given in this article. During the past decades, several new proboscidean specimens have been added to the old collections, significantly enriching the available material. The Axios Valley (Macedonia, Greece) proboscidean fossils belong mainly to two species of Choerolophodon: C. anatolicus of early Vallesian age and C. pentelici of late Vallesian–Turolian age. Deinotherium giganteum is rare and recognized only in the late Vallesian locality Ravin de la Pluie of Axios Valley. A zygodont form has also been identified in the Turolian of Axios Valley, attributed to “Mammut” sp. The Late Miocene localities of Nikiti (Macedonia, Greece) revealed several remains of C. pentelici, which are similar to the Turolian ones of Axios Valley. The Samos proboscidean collection includes C. pentelici, “Tetralophodon” atticus, “Mammut” sp. and Deinotherium gigantissimum. The taxonomy of the Late Miocene peri-Mediterranean Choerolophodon is given, and the biostratigraphy and palaeoecology of the Greek Late Miocene proboscideans are discussed.     

New material of Carnivora (Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Axios Valley,Macedonia, Greece

A new collection of carnivores from the Late Miocene deposits of Axios Valley, Macedonia, Greece was collected in 2004–2009 at the localities named Xirochori 1 (XIR) and Ravin de la Pluie (RPl), dated to the Late Vallesian (MN 10), as well as at Ravin des Zouaves 5 (RZO), dated to the Early Turolian (MN 11). The studied material is described and compared morphologically and biometrically with other materials from Greece and its neighboring area. The following species are determined: XIR: Dinocrocuta sp.; RPl: Eomellivora wimani, Adcrocuta eximia leptoryncha, ?Hyaenictis sp., Metailurus parvulus; RZO: Plioviverrops orbignyi, Machairodus giganteus. This collection is interesting because it includes the upper deciduous dentition of A. eximia and Dinocrocuta, which are only known from limited material until now, especially the latter taxon. E. wimani is recognized for the first time in Greece and the Balkans, while M. parvulus is identified for the first time in the Vallesian of Greece. The possible presence of Hyaenictis in RPl is the first indication of its presence in the Vallesian. The guild structure diagrams of the carnivore fauna from the three studied localities provide some indications of their palaeoenvironment, which fits quite well with the results of previous studies on the palaeoenvironments of these localities and of the wider Eastern Mediterranean region.     

Carnivores from the early/middle Miocene locality of Antonios (Chalkidiki, Macedonia, Greece)

The mammal locality of Antonios is one of the few known early-middle Miocene ones of Greece with large mammals. It is situated in Chalkidiki Peninsula (Macedonia, Greece) and includes both small and large mammals. The study of the carnivores found in Antonios indicates the presence of the following taxa: Proputorius cf. P. sansaniensis, Protictitherium gaillardi, Protictitherium cf. P. crassum, Percrocuta sp., Percrocutidae indet. and Pseusaelurus romieviensis. The material of each taxon is described, compared with other material from various Eurasian localities and determined. The species P. cf. sansaniensis and P. romieviensis are traced for first time in Eastern Mediterranean, while Percrocuta for first time in Greece. The presence of the other carnivoran taxa in the Antonios fauna is also interesting as they are recognized in older stratigraphic levels enriching our knowledge about their stratigraphic distribution. The carnivores of Antonios cannot offer significant data for the dating of the fauna but its age is discussed using the data coming from the carnivores as well as those from older studies of the micromammals and suoids.     

New Late Miocene murids from China (Mammalia, Rodentia)

New murids of Late Miocene (medial Baodean Chinese Mammal Unit) age from Inner Mongolia, northern China, and from Yunnan Province, southern China, are described. Hansdebruijnia perpusilla nov. sp. represents the earliest known and morphologically most primitive species of the genus, which is known from the latest Miocene of Europe and western Asia. The new species suggests an eastern Palaearctic origin of Hansdebruijnia. “Progonomys” yunnanensisQIU and STORCH, 1990 from Lufeng, Yunnan Province, is referred to Linomys nov. gen. New samples from Leilao, Yuanmou County, Yunnan Province, are included in this species, although this population is somewhat more primitive than that from Lufeng. Leilaomys zhudingi nov. gen. and sp. from Leilao shows a unique combination of apomorphic and plesiomorphic characters, which suggest an early divergence from the murid stem. The new findings indicate that our knowledge of the early radiation of murids in southeast Asia is still in its infancy.     

Prostrepsiceros and Protragelaphus (Artiodactyla,Mammalia) from the Late Miocene locality of Chomateri (Attica,Greece)

The Late Miocene fossiliferous locality of Chomateri is located close to the classic locality of Pikermi, but unfortunately its faunal context is not sufficiently known. Some fossil remains of spiral-horned antelopes from Chomateri are assigned to Prostrepsiceros rotundicornis and Protragelaphus skouzesi. The co-existence of P. rotundicornis and P. skouzesi is relatively rare in the Late Miocene, but well-documented in Pikermi. Comparisons of the Chomateri material support a middle Turolian age for the Chomateri locality and suggest a close chronological relation to the Pikermi fauna.     

New material of Chalicotheriidae (Perissodactyla,Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Axios Valley,Macedonia (Greece) with the description of a new species

Chalicotheriids are rare in the late Miocene mammal localities of Axios Valley, Macedonia (Greece). The new campaign of excavations, since 1972, has provided some specimens, which are studied in this article. They are coming from two different localities. The late early Vallesian locality of Pentalophos 1 (PNT) has provided a skull and a mandible of an Ancylotherium. The morphological characters of the PNT material as the small size, the long snout, the shallow mandibular corpus, the strong cingulum in the teeth, the short tooth rows and the short M3/m3 indicate that it differs from the known Turolian species A. pentelicum and allow the erection of a new species, named Ancylotherium hellenicum n. sp., which can be used as a biostratigraphic marker of the Vallesian. The middle Turolian locality Prochoma 1 (PXM) has provided only one M3, which is determined to the chalicotheriine Anisodon macedonicus. This species was earlier described from the middle Turolian locality Vathylakkos 3 (VAT) and the late Turolian one of Dytiko 3 (DKO) of Axios Valley. The biogeography and biostratigraphy of the late Miocene chalicotheres of the Greco-Iranian Palaeoprovince (GRIP), as well as their palaeoecology are also discussed. The common chalicothere of GRIP is A. pentelicum, expanded from the Balkans to Afganistan and ranging stratigraphically from the early to the late Turolian. Chalicotherium goldfussi is certainly present in GRIP and it also ranges from the early to the late Turolian; its possible Vallesian occurrence needs confirmation. The other two late Miocene chalicotheres of GRIP A. macedonicus and Kalimantsia bulgarica are restricted to the Turolian of the Balkan Peninsula.     

A new elasmotheriine (Mammalia,Rhinocerotidae) from the Early Miocene of Spain

A new species of Hispanotherium from the Early Miocene of Spain is named. Its phylogenetic relationships within Elasmotheriina are discussed owing to a cladistic analysis. H. grimmi Heissig, 1974 and H. beonense Antoine, 1997 are consequently integrated in the genus Hispanotherium, together with the type species H. matritense and the new species, which differs from other ones by several dental and postcranial features. The westward dispersal of the Elasmotheriina from Asia toward Western Europe during the Early Miocene is hypothesized. To cite this article: P.-O. Antoine et al., C. R. Palevol 1 (2002) 19–26.     

On some spiral-horned antelopes (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from the Late Miocene of Turkey, with remarks on their distribution

Examination of some collections from several late Miocene Turkish localities allows us to describe and definitely identify for the first time several species of spiral-horned antelopes in this country:Palaeoreas lindermayeri, Protragelaphus skouzesi, Prostrepsiceros zitteli andNisidorcas sp. During the first part of the late Miocene, several endemic species are restricted to central Anatolia, while more widespread taxa appear in the later part of this period, suggesting a decrease in provinciality of this area.     

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.     

Musteloids and feloids (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the late Miocene locality of Pikermi (Attica, Greece)

Some relatively rare carnivore remains from Pikermi are studied. The present specimens include Simocyon primigenius(ROTH and WAGNER, 1854), Promeles palaeatticus(WEITHOFER, 1888), Martes woodwardiPILGRIM, 1931, Felis atticaWAGNER, 1857 and Machairodus giganteus(WAGNER, 1848), as well as some postcranial remains that resemble Enhydriodon? latipesPILGRIM, 1931 and are assigned to Mustelidae gen. et spec. indet. Some of these species were not known until now but from their holotypes as M. woodwardi and E.? latipes. Other species such as F. attica and M. giganteus are better known but from relatively scant material. Since the material of the earlier mentioned species comes from Pikermi, their type locality, it is of especial importance and improves our knowledge for the Pikermi carnivores and their relationships to other species. In some cases where the material comes from ossiferous blocks, the accompanying faunal context is discussed.     

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.     

The micromammals from the Early/Middle Miocene locality of Antonios,Chalkidiki, Greece

The micromammals from the locality Antonios, North Greece, are studied in detail. This assemblage includes one bat, three insectivores, eight rodents and two lagomorphs. The age of the locality, as inferred on the basis of the micromammals, is Early–Middle Miocene (MN 4–MN 5 boundary interval). The represented taxa show European as well as Asian affinities.     

Killer sperm whale: a new basal physeteroid (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Late Miocene of Italy

Zygophyseter varolai , a new genus and species of Physeteroidea (Cetacea, Odontoceti), is based on an almost complete skeleton from the Late Miocene (Tortonian) in southern Italy. The extreme elongation of the zygomatic process of the squamosal and the circular supracranial basin (probably for housing the spermaceti organ) delimited by a peculiar anterior projection of the supraorbital process of the right maxilla are the most distinctive features of this bizarre sperm whale. Large body size, large teeth present in both lower and upper jaw, and anteroposteriorly elongated temporal fossa and zygomatic process of the squamosal indicate that this cetacean (for which we suggest the English common name killer sperm whale) was an active predator adapted to feeding on large prey, similarly to the extant killer whale ( Orcinus orca ). A phylogenetic analysis reveals that Zygophyseter belongs to a Middle–Late Miocene clade of basal physeteroids, together with Naganocetus (new genus for the type of ' Scaldicetus ' shigensis ). Moreover, the phylogenetic analysis shows evidence of a wide physeteroid radiation during the Miocene and that the extant Physeter and Kogia belong to two distinct families that form a clade representing the crown-group Physeteroidea.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 148 , 103–131.     

The emblematic Eurasian Villafranchian antelope Gazellospira (Mammalia: Bovidae): New insights from the Lower Pleistocene Dafnero fossil sites (Northern Greece)

A new sample of 65 specimens representing a minimum number of 15 individuals of the Eurasian antelope Gazellospira torticornis is described from the Lower Pleistocene fossil sites of Dafnero (DFN, N. Greece). The intrapopulation comparisons highlight that several cranial (frontal sinuses, inter-frontal sutures, longitudinal grooves, degree of the horn-cores torsion, and development of anterior keel) and postcranial features are likely subject to sexual dimorphism, suggesting a mixed-herd DFN population of both males and females with a social distribution estimated at a ∼1:2 ratio (seven females and three presumed males). The analysis also reveals that both cranial and postcranial elements of G. torticornis are subjected to a strong temporal linear regression during the Villafranchian; this trend appears more evident in western than eastern European territories. Furthermore, for contemporaneous samples, the metapodials of G. torticornis show higher dimensions in northern (above ca. 42.5° of latitude) than in meridional latitudes. A preliminary ecomorphological study suggests that open landscapes with plains and quite homogeneous substrates was the preferred habitat of Gazellospira from Dafnero. A revision of Eurasian specimens and taxa referred to several genera and species of heteronymous spiral horned antelopes spanning from the Late Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene, allows us to propose synonymizing Gazellospira gromovae with Antilospira? zdanskyi, and to recognize Parastrepsiceros sokolovi as an early eastern subspecies of G. torticornis. Our morphological analysis does not support recent results about close phylogenetic relationships of Gazellospira with either Antilospira or Spirocerus. A biogeographic scenario is proposed, in which Gazellospira originates in the peri-Black Sea region with a radiation westwards and eastwards during the early Villafranchian.     

Caprinae (Bovidae,Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the Neogene of Mongolia

Gobiocerus mongolicus Sokolov, 1952, Turcocerus kekemaidengensis Ye Jie et al., 1999; and Hypsodontus sp. were recorded in Miocene deposits of the Valley of Lakes (MN4-MN8) and Oioceros atropatenes (Rodler et Weithofer, 1890) occurred in the Mio-Pliocene (MN11-MN20) of northwestern Mongolia. Gobiocerus, Turcocerus, and Hypsodontus represent the same evolutionary lineage. Thus, Caprinae existed in Central Asia in the Early Miocene. They diverged from the Bovidae at the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. The presence of early bovids in this region suggests that this group could have appeared in Central Asia.