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.     

Egarapithecus narcisoi, a new genus of Pliopithecidae (primates, catarrhini) from the Late Miocene of Spain

Pliopithecid remains from the Spanish locality of Torrent de Febulines (Late Vallesian, MN 10), consisting of right and left mandibular fragments with partial tooth rows and an isolated P(3) probably belonging to the same individual, are described and assigned to Egarapithecus narcisoi gen. et sp. nov. (Pliopithecidae, Crouzeliinae). This is a highly derived species dated at around 9 Ma (Ma = 10(6) years), representing the latest appearance of the family in the European continent. Morphologically it is the most distant member from the inferred primitive pliopithecid morphotype, displaying many autapomorphies that notably accentuate those of the remaining Crouzeliinae. A cladistic analysis based on lower cheek teeth, performed in order to tentatively assess the phylogenetic relationships of Egarapithecus within the Crouzeliinae, indicates that several equally parsimonious cladograms are possible in the light of current evidence. This is due to uncertainties regarding the position of Plesiopliopithecus and Crouzelia (here considered distinct genera), as a result of missing characters and the significant degree of homoplasy apparently involved in crouzeliine dental evolution. Whether Egarapithecus is more closely related to Crouzelia or to Anapithecus (the latter hypothesis tentatively favored here) cannot be definitively resolved with the currently available material and deserves further investigation. It is clear, however, that Egarapithecus is one of the more derived and specialized members of the Pliopithecidae.     

A new species of Anchitherium (Equidae: Anchitheriinae) from the Middle Miocene of Abocador de Can Mata (Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula)

Anchitherium nievei sp. nov. is erected on the basis of dentognathic remains from the late Aragonian (MN7+8, ca. 12.3–12.1 to 11.7–11.6 Ma, Middle Miocene) of three localities from the Abocador de Can Mata local stratigraphic series (els Hostalets de Pierola, Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain). This taxon differs from endemic species of Anchitherium from the inner Iberian basins, most closely resembling A. aurelianense, A. hippoides and A. steinheimense by its marked brachyodonty and small dental size, although differing by dental proportions and several details of occlusal morphology. From a paleoenvironmental viewpoint, the presence of this taxon fits well with previous inferences that indicated a relatively closed and humid forested habitat, more similar to that of similarly aged French localities.     

The paleoenvironment of Hispanopithecus laietanus as revealed by paleobotanical evidence from the Late Miocene of Can Llobateres 1 (Catalonia, Spain)

The early Vallesian site of Can Llobateres 1 (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain) is one of the richest localities of the European Late Miocene, having yielded the most complete remains of the fossil great ape Hispanopithecus laietanus (Primates: Hominidae). Fossil plant remains had been previously reported from this site but mostly remained unpublished. Here we describe an assemblage of plant megaremains recovered in 2010, which provides valuable paleoenvironmental data. This assemblage consists of a mixture of parautochthonous and allochthonous detached organs (leaves, stems, reproductive structures) deposited in marshy areas. The source vegetation mainly consisted of abundant reeds, palms, evergreen laurels and figs that probably grew in or near the marsh boundaries or nearby riparian forests. This environmental picture is consistent with the mammalian fauna, which shows the prevalence of humid forested environments, although somewhat more open woodlands might have been present away from the wet areas. The occurrence of mega-mesothermal taxa, together with the absence of deciduous elements, is consistent with a subtropical to warm-temperate climate. Within this mosaic environment, H. laietanus would have preferred the more humid and forested habitats, which probably were still quite common in the Vallès-Penedès during the early Vallesian. Such habitats would have provided a continuous ripe fruit supply throughout the year to these frugivorous great apes. Paleobotanical data from older sites of the same area and nearby basins show that the zonal vegetation was a warm-temperate mixed forest defined by evergreen laurels, together with leguminous trees and shrubs as well as a significant proportion of deciduous elements. Tropical and subtropical taxa would have been restricted to humid areas in the lowlands. From the late Vallesian onwards, many of these taxa disappeared from the Vallès-Penedès, whereas deciduous trees became dominant in the forested areas and wetlands, thus likely having driven Hispanopithecus to extinction in the study area.     

A new species of Plesiodimylus (Dimylidae,Eulipotyphla, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of Spain

Abstract

We report a new dimylid species, Plesiodimylus ilercavonicus sp. nov., from the Early Miocene locality of Mas d’Antolino B-5 (Ribesalbes-Alcora, Castelló, Spain). This new species of Plesiodimylus is an amblyodont form of the genus and exhibits some primitive characters. The phylogenetic and palaeoenvironmental implications of this southern occurrence of Plesiodimylus in Lower Miocene sediments are discussed.

http://zoobank.org/lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E78DB979-6552-4BE2-BEC9-FA2EA05B7B39     

Two new species of seahorses (Syngnathidae, Hippocampus) from the Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) Coprolitic Horizon in Tunjice Hills, Slovenia: The oldest fossil record of seahorses

Two new and the only known extinct seahorse species Hippocampus sarmaticus and Hippocampus slovenicus are described from the Middle Miocene beds (Lower Sarmatian) in Slovenia, representing the oldest known fossil record of seahorses. Hippocampus sarmaticus was most similar to the extant seahorse species Hippocampus trimaculatus, while H. slovenicus can be most easily compared to the extant pygmy seahorses H. bargibanti, H. denise, and H. colemani. These Sarmatian seahorses lived among seagrasses and macroalgae in the temperate shallow costal waters of the western part of the Central Paratethys Sea.     

A new species of Valantia (Rubiaceae) from Spain

A new species of Valantia , V. lainzii Devesa & Ortega-Olivencia, endemic to the coastal zone of Granada (southern Spain) is described. The species recalls V. muralis L. in its general aspect, and V. deltoidea Brullo in the type of fructiferous body.  © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 143 , 331–335.     

A new stem-sperm whale (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Physeteroidea) from the Latest Miocene of Peru

A finely preserved skull with mandible and teeth associated, from the Latest Miocene beds (ca. 6 Ma) of the Pisco Formation, Sud-Sacaco, Peru, represents a new physeteroid genus and species, Acrophyseter deinodon. This moderate size sperm whale is characterized, among others, by: the short rostrum, the mandible distinctly curved upwards, large teeth very close together (12 on each upper tooth row and 13 on each lower tooth row), the lateral margin of the maxilla along the rostrum base much lower than the orbit roof, a wide supracranial basin dorsally overhanging the right orbit and limited to the cranium and a large temporal fossa dorsomedially elevated. A preliminary cladistic analysis provides a phylogenetic position of Acrophyseter nested within the stem-Physeteroidea, more basal than the clade Kogiidae + Physeteridae. The morphology of the oral apparatus and of the temporal fossa suggests that Acrophyseter was able to feed on large preys.     

A new species of the leopard pleco genus Pseudacanthicus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Rio Xingu,Brazil

The genus Pseudacanthicus comprises six valid species distributed in the Amazon basin and Caribbean coastal drainages from Guyana to French Guiana: P. serratus, P. fordii, P. histrix, P. spinosus, P. leopardus and P. pitanga. A new species of Pseudacanthicus is described from the Rio Xingu Basin, distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: presence of anastomose dark blotches forming continuous zigzag bands alongside longitudinal keels; presence of dark blotches on ventral surface of body and head; all fins with orange to red colour on unbranched rays and sometimes subsequent branched rays. Brief comments on ornamental fisheries and conservation of the new species are also provided.     

A new species of the rhinoceros Alicornops from the Middle Miocene of the Linxia Basin, Gansu, China

A new species of the genus Alicornops, A. laogouense , from Laogou in Hezheng County, Linxia Basin, Gansu, China, is described. It is mid-sized in the subfamily Aceratheriinae, but is the largest known species of Alicornops . It represents the first discovery of the genus in Asia. The Middle Miocene fauna bearing A. laogouense is contemporaneous with the Dingjiaergou fauna of Tongxin, Ningxia, China, and its age corresponds to MN 6 in Europe. The discovery of A. laogouense in the Linxia Basin implies that Alicornops dispersed from Europe to Asia. During MN 6 times it was relatively widespread throughout Eurasia. Alicornops laogouense lived in open woodland rich in lakes and rivers.     

A new species of Pseudoloris (Omomyidae,Primates) from the middle Eocene of Sant Jaume de Frontanyà (Eastern Pyrenees,Spain)

In this article we describe a new species of Pseudoloris (Omomyidae, Primates) from the Robiacian (middle Eocene) locality of Sant Jaume de Frontanyà (Eastern Pyrenees, Spain). Pseudoloris pyrenaicus is characterized by its medium size, thickened paracristid, absence of a distinct paraconid, and well‐developed buccal cingulid in the lower molars, large hypoconulid in the M₃, paraconule and hypocone reduced in the M¹ and M² and absent in the M³. The material from Sant Jaume de Frontanyà constitutes the most abundant sample of the genus Pseudoloris found until now in the Iberian Peninsula. Almost all the dental elements have been recovered, including those teeth hardly known for other species of the genus, such as lower and upper incisors. The new species shows intermediate features between Pseudoloris isabenae from Capella and Pseudoloris parvulus, present in different Spanish and French sites. Therefore, we consider that Pseudoloris pyrenaicus is an intermediate form between these two species. Am J Phys Anthropol 143:92–99, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

A new species of Deinsdorfia (Soricidae, Insectivora, Mammalia) from the Pliocene of Spain

A new species of Deinsdorfia is defined using new material coming from the karstic fissure infilling of Almenara-Casablanca 4 (Castelló, Spain), which shows important differences with the rest of the previously known species of the genus. The definition of a new species is supported by the characters found in extra material coming from the localities of Valdeganga, in the Albacete Province (Spain). The stratigraphical occurrence of this genus of pigmented-toothed shrews reinforces the idea of the Iberian Peninsula as a sink area during the Pliocene, where some Central-European soricids expanded their distribution. Most of those migrations or distributional expansions coincide with moments of climatic changes in the northern hemisphere.     

A new Early Miocene genus of the family Sciaenidae (Teleostei, Perciformes) from the eastern Paratethys

A new genus of sciaenid fish Caucasisciaena is erected to accommodate the Early Miocene eastern Paratethys species Perca ignota Smirnov, 1936, which, subsequently, was variously attributed to the modern genera, either Larimus or Otolithoides. The materials examined include 32 specimens from four Caucasian and Crimean localities of Sakaraulian age (Lower Burdigalian). The new genus is based on a unique combination of features, including: parasphenoid with a dorsal rounded bony flange; basisphenoid present; premaxilla with short ascending process forming obtuse angle with alveolar process and ascending/alveolar process ratio about 0.17; anterior premaxillary teeth enlarged; posttemporal with few robust spines along its posterior margin; presence of 25 vertebrae; presence of three tiny supraneurals; dorsal fin with 11 spines plus 22–24 soft rays; anal fin with two spines and 7–8 soft rays; second anal-fin spine long and massive; pectoral fin elongate; scales ctenoid on body and cycloid on head (except for one or two rows of ctenoid scales on the cheek). Paleoecological considerations suggest that Caucasisciaena probably was a predatory fish that inhabited the coastal waters of the eastern sector of the Paratethyan basin.     

Prohylobates (Primates) from the Early Miocene of Libya: A new species and its implications for cercopithecid origins

Prohylobates simonsi n. sp. is described on the basis of a partial mandible with M_2–3 from the region of GebelZelten. It is nearly twice the size of the penecontemporaneous P. tandyi and has a relatively longer M₃, but otherwise is nearly identical in morphology. Prohylobates is the most conservative known cercopithecid, presenting incomplete bilophodonty, possible cingulum remnants, high relative width of M₂ and robust mandibular corpus. The variation in M₃ length is comparable to that within some later cercopithecid species and between the species of Propliopithecus, the Oligocene catarrhine suggested to be nearest the ancestry of the Cercopithecidae. Parapithecus (including Simonsius) is not a cercopithecid ancestor     

A new species of Stomatostemma (Periplocaceae) from Mozambique, Africa

VENTER, H.J. T. & FIELD, D. V., 1989. A new species of Stomatostemma (Periplocaceae) from Mozambique, Africa. A new species of Stomatostemma is described from Mozambique. 11 is [he second species distinguished in the genus Stomatostemma N.E. Br., the other being S. monteiroae (Oliv.) N.E. Br., which was also described from Mozambique. The new species is distinguished from.V. monteiroae by being a virgate shrub, by the pendulous terminal branches and inflorescences, by the long and frail peduncles and pedicels and by the long clavate corona lobes.     

A new endangered species of Megaleporinus (Characiformes: Anostomidae) from the Rio de Contas basin,eastern Brazil

A new species of Megaleporinus is described from the Rio de Contas, a coastal drainage of eastern Brazil, and its phylogenetic relationships are studied using molecular data. The new species is unique among Anostomidae by possessing two exclusive features: an irregular dark longitudinal stripe from supracleithrum to second midlateral blotch and anterior cranial fontanel partially closed. In addition, the new species is diagnosed by having three premaxillary teeth, three dentary teeth, 37 or 38 scales in lateral line, 16 scale rows around caudal peduncle, three dark midlateral blotches on body, and red fins in life. The new species is closely related to M. obtusidens from the São Francisco basin, corroborating previous studies that indicated that the latter represents a species complex as currently defined. The new species exhibits the first rib enlarged in mature males, a feature described for some congeners. The new species is herein considered to be Endangered under the IUCN criteria.     

Olemehlia krali,a new genus and species of Ripidiinae from Baltic amber (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae)

A new genus and species, Olemehlia krali n. g. & n. sp. (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae: Ripidiinae), is described from Baltic amber. The newly described genus is compared with all known fossil and extant closely related genera of the subfamily Ripidiinae. It is characterised by the following combination of characters: antennae consisting of 10 antennomeres, with scape, pedicel, and antennomere 3 simple and antennomeres 4–10 uniflabellate, mouthparts reduced to a small single unpaired tubercle, postocular ommatidia absent, pronotum trapezoid without grooves or impressions, elytra without white apical spots, tarsal formula 5–5–4, hind tarsomere I shorter than three remaining combined. Diversity of Ripiphoridae in Baltic amber is discussed; key to Ripidiinae genera from Baltic amber is provided.     

A new species of Chirita (Gesneriaceae) from Yunnan,China

A new species of Gesneriaceae, Chirita maguanensis Z.Y.Li, H.Jiang & H.Xu, is described from Southern Yunnan, China. It is similar to C. eburnea Hance in its large, fleshy, white and parallel‐veined bracts, but differs by having broad and oblique leaves with a repand–crenate or crenate margin, suborbicular bracts, membranous, white calyx, purple corolla‐tube, 2‐parted lower lip of stigma and lower disc. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 269–273.