<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ardea sytchevskayae</Emphasis> sp. nov., a new heron species (Aves: Ardeidae) from the Middle Miocene of Mongolia

A new heron species, Ardea sytchevskayae sp. nov., from the Middle Miocene Sharga locality is described. The new species is represented by an almost complete coracoid and a few partial coracoids, partial scapula, and caprometacarpus. A. sytchevskayae was a relatively large heron, of the same size as A. alba, and intermediate in morphology between A. alba and other species traditionally included in this genus. In addition, the Sharga locality has yielded a large bittern and a medium-sized heron of uncertain taxonomic position.     

Dabbling ducks (Aves: Anatidae) from the Middle Miocene of Mongolia

A new genus and two new species of ducks (Aves: Anatidae) from the Middle Miocene Sharga locality are described. Mioquerquedula minutissima gen. et sp. nov. is a very small duck. Anas velox Milne-Edwards, 1868 from the Middle Miocene of France is transferred to the genus Mioquerquedula. Aix praeclara sp. nov. described here is the oldest record of the modern genus Aix. A revision of the previously described small duck Anas soporata Kurochkin, 1976 shows that only the specimens from the Sharga locality should be referred to this species. The status of other small ducks from the Neogene of Europe and North America is discussed. The diversity of herbivorous and diving ducks in the Sharga locality indicates that Miocene Shargyn Govi Lake was rich in food resources.     

Gliridae (Rodentia,Mammalia) with a simple dental pattern: a new genus and new species from the European Early and Middle Miocene

A new genus of Gliridae, Simplomys gen. nov. is proposed. It contains glirids with a simplified dental pattern from the European Early and Middle Miocene. Simplomys gen. nov. includes several species originally described as Pseudodryomys such as Simplomys simplicidens, Simplomys robustus, Simplomys julii, and Simplomys aljaphi. In addition, a new species, Simplomys meulenorum sp. nov. , is proposed from the Spanish Miocene. The species of this genus share not only a very reduced and simplified dental morphology, but also unique dental proportions that clearly separate them from any other genera of Gliridae. Simplomys gen. nov. is recorded in most of the fossil faunas from the Early and Middle Miocene of the Iberian Peninsula, and shows the maximum diversity in this area during Mammal Neogene Zones MN 3 and MN 4. The genus has been also recorded in other European countries such as France, Germany, and Switzerland, conferring to this very characteristic taxon an important role for biochronological correlations within the European continent. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 157 , 622–652.     

First record of Miocene crustaceans from Hormozgan Province,Southern Iran

Four decapod crustacean species from the Middle Miocene Mishan Formation of Hormozgan Province, Southern Iran are described. Three species of leucosiid crabs represent the first fossil record for their respective genera outside the Indo-Pacific region. The oldest records for Leucosia sensu lato, Phylira sensu lato, and Arcania are from Middle Miocene deposits of the Indo-Pacific, and thus their paleobiogeographic distribution is extended for this lapse of time. Harpactocarcinus miocenicus n. sp. represents the youngest and most oriental occurrence for a typically Eocene genus, whose species are known mainly from Central Europe. This contribution represents the first formal report for Tertiary crustaceans from Iran.     

The second fossil ceratocombid bug from the Miocene amber of Chiapas (Mexico) (Hemiptera: Ceratocombidae)

The second fossil Ceratocombidae Leptonannus miocenicus n. sp. is described as first extinct representative of the genus, from the Middle Miocene Mexican amber. The species is distinguished from its related taxa, a discussion is given.     

Lepadiform and scalpelliform barnacles from the Oligocene and Miocene of the Paratethys sea

Abstract: A review on the Oligocene and Miocene stalked barnacles of the Paratethys Sea is presented. The fauna comprises two lepadiform and eight scalpelliform species. Only two species are known from Oligocene deposits, four are documented from Lower Miocene formations, and another four species occur in the Middle Miocene. Only one Oligocene and one Miocene species occur in two different Paratethyan basins in roughly coeval environments, and only a single Middle Miocene species is also known from the adjacent Mediterranean Sea. This low degree of biogeographical similarity is probably a result from the still low number of publications dealing with this group. Stalked barnacles are often indicating bathyal or at least deep sublittoral environments. Especially, the abundance of the benthic deep‐water lepadiform Poecilasma in evaporitic deposits of the Middle Miocene Badenian Salinity Crisis may serve as new evidence for a deeper marine depositional environment. Scalpellum paratethyianum sp. nov. and Lepas sattmanni sp. nov. are described as new species; Arcoscalpellum renevieri (Mayer and Gümbel in Gümbel, 1861) is introduced as new combination.     

A revision of the sauropod dinosaur genus ‘Bothriospondylus’ with a redescription of the type material of the Middle Jurassic form ‘B. madagascariensis’

Abstract: The sauropod dinosaur ‘Bothriospondylus’, originally named on the basis of Late Jurassic remains from England, is demonstrated to be invalid, and the characters used to diagnose it are shown to be obsolescent features which are widespread throughout Sauropoda. Material referred to this genus spans a temporal range from the Middle Jurassic until the early Late Cretaceous and has been described from five different countries, across three continents. These remains represent a wide array of sauropod groups, comprising non‐neosauropod eusauropods, a macronarian, titanosauriforms (including at least one definite brachiosaurid) and a rebbachisaurid. The type material of the Middle Jurassic ‘B. madagascariensis’ represents a derived non‐neosauropod eusauropod and possesses two potential autapomorphies. However, as a result of the fragmentary nature of the material and the uncertainty surrounding its association, a new taxon is not erected. Of the numerous specimens referred to ‘Bothriospondylus’, however, several remains are considered diagnostic: Ornithopsis hulkei (Early Cretaceous, UK), Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis (Middle Jurassic, Madagascar) and Nopcsaspondylus alarconensis (early Late Cretaceous, Argentina). At least three types of sauropod were present in the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of north‐west Madagascar, with a basal eusauropod (Archaeodontosaurus), a more derived eusauropod (‘B. madagascariensis’) and a titanosauriform (Lapparentosaurus) all approximately contemporaneous. Palaeocontinental reconstructions suggest that Middle Jurassic Madagascan sauropods would still have been capable of global biotic interchange, and this is perhaps reflected in their diverse assemblage. Re‐evaluation of these Malagasy forms has shed new light on this important time period in sauropod evolution.     

A Middle Miocene endemic freshwater mollusc assemblage from an intramontane Alpine lake (Aflenz Basin,Eastern Alps,Austria)

The mollusc fauna of the early Middle Miocene (Langhian) intramontane Alpine Lake Groisenbach is described for the first time. The shells derive from the Feistring Formation in the Aflenz Basin in Austria, which was covered by Lake Groisenbach. The assemblage is moderately diverse with 12 gastropod and 2 bivalve species, suggesting shallow lacustrine and fluvial settings. Among the gastropods, only Theodoxus crenulatus (Klein, 1853) is known from other Miocene localities, whilst all other species are documented so far only from Lake Groisenbach. None of the Early and Middle Miocene lake systems of the Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep and the Balkan Peninsula displays any faunistic resemblance with this new fauna. Even coeval lake faunas from the close-by Graz Basin have no species in common with Lake Groisenbach. This pattern points to a surprising endemicity and biogeographic fragmentation in the Central European freshwater systems during the Early and Middle Miocene. The uniqueness of the newly described fauna is also indicated by the completely erratic occurrence of the otherwise African-Mediterranean genus Bulinus, which is unknown from all other central European Miocene freshwater systems. Emmericia roetzeli Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp., Nematurella zuschini Neubauer and Harzhauser nov. sp., Romania fastigata Neubauer and Harzhauser nov. sp., Odontohydrobia groisenbachensis Neubauer and Harzhauser nov. sp., Odontohydrobia pompatica Neubauer and Harzhauser nov. sp., Odontohydrobia styriaca Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp., Planorbis austroalpinus Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp., Gyraulus sachsenhoferi Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp., Bulinus corici Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp., Ferrissia crenellata Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp. and Stagnicola reinholdkunzi Harzhauser and Neubauer nov. sp. are introduced as new species.     

A late Burdigalian gobiid fish,<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gobius brevis</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">Agassiz</Emphasis>, 1839), in the Upper Hydrobia Beds in the middle Upper Rhine Graben (W-Germany)

Gobius brevis (Agassiz, 1839) was hitherto exclusively based on articulated skeletons. It first appears in the late Early Miocene (late Burdigalian, Karpatian) and is widespread throughout the Middle Miocene. Its previously known zoogeographical distribution was the western Paratethys and the Styrian Basin in Austria. We here report on articulated skeletons ofG. brevis with otoliths in situ from a temporary outcrop at Edenkoben, located in the middle Upper Rhine Graben, Germany. The strata are assigned to the basal part of the Upper Hydrobia Beds. The otoliths in situ are identical with those ofGobius latiformis Reichenbacher, 1992, which is an otolith-based species occurring in the Karpatian and Middle Miocene of the western Paratethys; henceG. latiformis has to be regarded as a younger synonym ofG. brevis (Agassiz, 1839). The skeletons ofG. brevis from Edenkoben differ from other articulated freshwater or brackish water MioceneGobius species in the number of vertebrae, more elongate body shape, and number of fin rays. Also the otoliths ofG. brevis differ in their overall shape from these species. However, the in situ preserved otoliths ofG. brevis in the Edenkoben locality show a more primitive evolutionary stage than the Middle Miocene otoliths ofG. brevis (formerly described asG. latiformis). Thus, the gobiid fishes from Edenkoben belong to the oldest representatives ofG. brevis and must be late Burdigalian in age.Gobius brevis probably migrated into the middle Upper Rhine Graben from the Paratethys area.      

Sexual and individual morphometric variation in Libycosaurus (Mammalia, Anthracotheriidae) from the Maghreb and Libya

Anthracotheres of late Middle Miocene and Late Miocene age have been described from several localities in northern Africa, all of them currently assigned to the genus Libycosaurus Bonarelli, although in several previous works they were assigned to Merycopotamus Falconer and Cautley, a considerably younger and specialised form from the Indian subcontinent which has quite different dental and cranial morphology. Three species of Libycosaurus have been named, but there has been some doubt about the morphometric variation within the various species, with some authors such as Gaziry (1987) placing the fossils from Sahabi (Latest Miocene, Libya) and Beglia (end Middle Miocene to basal Late Miocene, Tunisia) into the same species despite marked size differences, and others (Ducrocq et al., 2001) creating a species for a restricted sample of small specimens from Nementcha (Late Middle Miocene, Algeria), but which overlaps with the range of size variation of Beglia fossils. The aim of this paper is to examine the available samples in greater depth in order to understand the morphometric variation in these anthracotheres. It is confirmed that the Beglia sample is quite variable (Black, 1972), both morphologically and metrically, but it is concluded that it nevertheless belongs to a single species, because specimens from some of the localities within the Beglia Formation (e.g. Loc. 17 in the lower levels at Beglia) span the entire range of variation (Pickford, 1994). The sample from Nementcha cannot be distinguished from the Beglia sample on any consistent metric or morphological basis, but in general the specimens fall at the low end of the range of variation of the Beglia sample. It is thus likely that L. algeriensis is a synonym of L. anisae. The Sahabi and Chad samples (L. petrocchii), in contrast, fall above the known range of variation of the Beglia material in almost all metric features, but are close to it morphologically, and they are considered to represent a species distinct from the Beglia sample.     

First partial face and upper dentition of the Middle Miocene hominoid Dryopithecus fontani from Abocador de Can Mata (Vallès‐Penedès Basin,Catalonia, NE Spain): Taxonomic and phylogenetic implications

A well‐preserved 11.8‐million‐years‐old lower face attributed to the seminal taxon Dryopithecus fontani (Primates, Hominidae) from the Catalan site ACM/C3‐Ae of the Hostalets de Pierola area (Vallès‐Penedès Basin, Catalonia, NE Spain) is described. The new data indicate that D. fontani is distinct at the genus level from Late Miocene European taxa previously attributed to Dryopithecus, which are here reassigned to Hispanopithecus. The new facial specimen also suggests that D. fontani and the Middle Miocene Pierolapithecus catalaunicus are not synonymous. Anatomical and morphometric analyses further indicate that the new specimen shows a combination of lower facial features—hitherto unknown in Miocene hominoids—that resembles the facial pattern of Gorilla, thus providing the first nondental evidence of gorilla‐like lower facial morphology in the fossil record. Considering the current evidence, the gorilla‐like facial pattern of D. fontani is inferred to be derived relative to previously known stem hominids, and might indicate that this taxon is either an early member of the Homininae or, alternatively, a stem hominid convergent with the lower facial pattern of Gorilla. The biogeographic implications of both alternatives are discussed. This new finding in the Hostalets de Pierola section reinforces the importance of this area for understanding the elusive question of the Middle Miocene origin and early radiation of great apes. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A pre‐Miocene Irano‐Turanian cradle: Origin and diversification of the species‐rich monocot genus Gagea (Liliaceae)

The Irano‐Turanian (IT) floristic region is considered an important center of origin for many taxa. However, there is a lack of studies dealing with typical IT genera that also occur in neighboring areas. The species‐rich monocot genus Gagea Salisb. shows a center of diversity in IT region and a distribution in adjacent regions, therefore representing a good study object to investigate spatial and temporal relationships among IT region and its neighboring areas (East Asia, Euro‐Siberia, Himalaya, and Mediterranean). We aimed at (a) testing the origin of the genus and of its major lineages in the IT region, (b) reconstructing divergence times, and (c) reconstructing colonization events. To address these problems, sequences of the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of 418 individuals and chloroplast intergenic spacers sequences (psbA‐trnH, trnL‐trnF) of 497 individuals, representing 116 species from all sections of the genus and nearly its entire distribution area were analyzed. Divergence times were estimated under a random molecular clock based on nrITS phylogeny, which was the most complete data set regarding the representation of species and distribution areas. Ancestral distribution ranges were estimated for the nrITS data set as well as for a combined data set, revealing that Gagea most likely originated in southwestern Asia. This genus first diversified there starting in the Early Miocene. In the Middle Miocene, Gagea migrated to the Mediterranean and to East Asia, while migration into Euro‐Siberia took place in the Late Miocene. During the Pleistocene, the Arctic was colonized and Gagea serotina, the most widespread species, reached North America. The Mediterranean basin was colonized multiple times from southwestern Asia or Euro‐Siberia. Most of the currently existing species originated during the last 3 Ma.     

The parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) from the Middle Miocene of Sansan (Gers,Southern France)

The occurrence of Archaeopsittacus sp. (Psittaciformes) in the fossil deposits of Sansan (France) is reported, testifying to a survival of this genus in the Middle Miocene, as Archaeopsittacus verreauxi was described from the Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (France) and was recorded only from its type locality. The data discussed here indicate the presence of two parrot species from Sansan, as it is the type locality of another parrot species, Pararallus dispar, only known from this locality. The differences between the humeri of these two taxa are described in detail, together with the differences from the other European fossil parrot species. The presence of more than one species of parrot in the same locality is not rare, but in Europe it is recorded in Sansan for the second time. Evidence for parrots also confirms the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Sansan, as parrots are primarily arboreal species. Archaeopsittacus also represents one of the few common elements between the Early and Middle Miocene European bird assemblages.     

New insights on Cricetodontini (Rodentia,Mammalia) from the Duero Basin,Spain

Abstract

The tribe Cricetodontini is a common cricetid group found in several European basins from the Miocene. Here we present a study of the fossils of this group found in the Duero Basin. We updated the biostratigraphical assignation of some of the localities in which several species of Cricetodontini have been found. Cricetodontini remains from eight localities from the central sector of the Duero Basin have been described, measured and assigned to a species. The presence in these localities of Hispanomys aguirrei, H. lavocati, H. nombrevillae and H. aragonensis has allowed correlating them to the biostratigraphic scale built for the Miocene in Calatayud-Daroca Basin, identifying biozones G3, H and I (MN7/8 – MN10, Late Aragonian – Early Vallesian, Middle – Late Miocene). Furthermore, this study constitutes the first citation of this species in this basin, except H. aguirrei, previously described in the Duero Basin. After this work, the biostratigraphical assignation of the studied sites is now well known. We evidenced the resemblance of Duero and Calatayud-Daroca basins.     

A new duck from the Middle Miocene of Mongolia, with comments on Miocene evolution of ducks

A new relatively large duck, Chenoanas deserta gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Miocene of the Sharga locality, which is morphologically intermediate between the extant genera Chenonetta and Tachyeres, is described. The diversity of Early and Middle Miocene ducks is discussed. It is noted that some Middle Miocene duck remains are incorrectly referred to the genus Mionetta. The distribution of morphological characters of the humerus in Neogene and extant ducks shows that the present day diversity of ducks apparently results from extinction of some taxa which were formed in the Oligocene-Early Miocene. The distribution of morphological characters in the evolution of diving ducks is evidence that not only the formation of different morphotypes but also so-called ??evolutionary maturation?? of taxa also explains the modern diversity.     

New Catarrhine fossils from Moroto II, Early Middle Miocene (ca 17.5 Ma) Uganda

During the 1998–2003 field seasons of the Uganda Palaeontology Expedition, dental remains of three catarrhine species were recovered from Moroto II, Uganda. Micromammals from the locality indicate a late Early Miocene to basal Middle Miocene (ca 17.5–17 Ma) age, younger than Rusinga (17.8 Ma), but similar in age to Buluk (17.2 Ma) and Kalodirr (17.2 Ma). This paper describes and interprets new catarrhines from the site, one of which is a victoriapithecid monkey, the second a new genus and species of small-bodied ape, and the third a large hominoid. A fourth species collected in the 1960's is attibuted to Afropithecus turkanensis. To cite this article: M. Pickford et al., C. R. Palevol 2 (2003).     

Les Spatangus du Miocène et du Pliocène de l’Ouest de la France

Numerous fragments of spatangoid echinoids have been discovered in the Pliocene deposits of Challans, in Vendée (western France). In spite of the fragmentary data of the samples, a reconstitution of a complete test could be realized using the different fragments and their symetrization. The general shape of the test, and its architectural and ornemental characters allow establishing the presence of the genus Spatangus in western France during the end of Neogene. It allows to precise the biogeography of the genus Spatangus and of the morphological group S. (S.) purpureus on the Atlantic coast after the Messinian crisis. The Pliocene species is compared to the Miocene Spatangus (Phymapatagus) brittanus, abundant in Anjou, Brittany and Touraine. This older species was refered to the subgenus Phymapatagus according to the presumed lack of primary tubercles on its posterior interambulacrum. The discovery of well-preserved specimens, with primary tubercles on every parts of the test, in the Middle Miocene of Brittany allows to refute this subgeneric distinction and to refer the species brittanus to the subgenus Spatangus (Spatangus). The presence of this subgenus in western France is finally confirmed from Middle Miocene to Pliocene.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Euleiognathus,</Emphasis> a new genus proposed for the Miocene ponyfish, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leiognathus tottori</Emphasis> Yabumoto and Uyeno 1994 (Perciformes: Leiognathidae) from Japan

A new leiognathid genus Euleiognathus is proposed for Leiognathus tottori Yabumoto and Uyeno 1994, described from the Middle Miocene Iwami Formation of the Tottori Group, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. Euleiognathus differs from other genera of the family Leiognathidae in having serrations on the anterior edges of the second to fourth spines of the dorsal fin and relatively large uniserial conical teeth of the premaxilla.     

ANATOMICAL REVISION OF THE GENUS MERYCOPOTAMUS (ARTIODACTYLA; ANTHRACOTHERIIDAE): ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR LATE MIOCENE MAMMAL DISPERSAL IN ASIA

Abstract:  New fossil remains of the anthracothere genus Merycopotamus Falconer and Cautley, are described. Most of them were discovered by the Harvard University and Geological Survey of Pakistan joint research project (Y-GSP) in the well-dated Middle and Late Miocene deposits of the Potwar Plateau in northern Pakistan. This new material led us to revise the systematics of the genus with the validation of three species, M. nanus Falconer ( M. pusillus Lydekker), M. dissimilis Falconer and Cautley, and M. medioximus Lihoreau et al. , and allowed us to determine precisely their chronological distributions in a continuous Neogene sequence. Other specimens reported from the late Miocene deposits of the Khorat Plateau in north-east Thailand by the Department of Mineral Resources are the first remains of Merycopotamus to have been discovered in that region and are attributed to M. medioximus . These discoveries indicate a wider geographical distribution of the genus in the early Late Miocene. Anatomical investigations highlight the evolution of Merycopotamus through the Miocene towards more amphibious habits. Palaeobiogeographical and palaeoecological information for Merycopotamus stress the role of the Himalayan orogenesis as a dispersal barrier and the impact of a major global regression event on the evolution of Indian Subcontinent faunas from the Middle Miocene to the Late Pliocene.     

New rodents (Cricetidae) from the Neogene of Curaçao and Bonaire,Dutch Antilles

Cordimus, a new genus of cricetid rodent, is described from Neogene deposits on the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire, Dutch Antilles. The genus is characterized by strongly cuspidate molars, the presence of mesolophs in most upper molars and the absence of mesolophids in lower molars. Similarities with the early cricetid Copemys from the Miocene of North America coupled with apparent derived characters shared with the subfamily Sigmodontinae suggest that Cordimus may be close to the root of the sigmodontine lineage, a possibility that remains to be tested through explicit phylogenetic analysis. Three species are recognized on the basis of size and details of molar morphology. Cordimus hooijeri sp. nov. is described from Bonaire on the basis of Holocene owl pellet material that consists of dentaries and postcranial material only. This species is presumed to be extinct, but focused surveys are needed to confirm this hypothesis. Cordimus debuisonjei sp. nov. and Cordimus raton sp. nov. are described from deposits on Tafelberg Santa Barbara in Curaçao. Although the age of these deposits is not known, they are most likely of late Pliocene or early Pleistocene age. Both are represented by numerous isolated molars and some osteological material.