[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Southernmost Record of Megadolodus (Litopterna: Proterotheriidae: Megadolodinae) from the late Middle Miocene of Fitzcarrald, Peruvian Amazonia, and mesowear analysis of diet in megadolodine litopterns

Megadolodus molariformis  McKenna, 1956

in Wilson, Carrillo, Salas-Gismondi, Antoine, Benites-Palomino, Condamine, Marivaux, Pujos, Sánchez-Meseguer et Saarinen, 2024.

DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2413103   

Researchgate.net/publication/385517486_

 Reconstruction by Miguel Hernandez.

ABSTRACT

Megadolodinae is a clade of tropical bunodont litopterns that includes three previously recognized species from Miocene fossil sites from northern South America. Here, we report an additional occurrence of Megadolodus molariformis from the Middle Miocene exposures at the Fitzcarrald arch (Peruvian Amazonia), based on dental material, which represents the southernmost record of the clade. This discovery further increases the faunal similarity between Fitzcarrald and the coeval La Venta fauna of Colombia. Given the convergent evolution of the bunodont dentition of megadolodines with suoids (Old World pigs and New World peccaries), we tested the hypothesis of frugivory in megadolodines with a mesowear angle approach using modern pigs and peccaries. These analyses differentiate the diet of modern suoids and suggest that megadolodines had a more abrasive diet than most of these taxa, except for the grazing warthogs. The dentition of megadolodines shows similar levels of abrasion to modern babirusas, thereby suggesting that the latter may represent an appropriate modern analog.

Class MAMMALIA Linnaeus, 1758

Infraclass PLACENTALIA Owen, 1837

Order LITOPTERNA Ameghino, 1889

Family PROTEROTHERIIDAE Ameghino, 1887

Subfamily MEGADOLODINAE Cifelli & Villarroel, 1997

Genus MEGADOLODUS McKenna, 1956

MEGADOLODUS MOLARIFORMIS McKenna, 1956

 A–F. Megadolodus molariformis upper dentition. A–D. Megadolodus molariformis right M1 (MUSM 4963) from the URU-208 locality of the Fitzcarrald Local Fauna in A, occlusal, B, buccal, C, distal, and D, mesial views, respectively. E, UNC TATAC1, right maxilla with P4–M3. F, VPPLT 1588, left maxilla with M1–3.
G, map of the occurrences of Megadolodinae in northern South America. Megadolodus molariformis silhouette from phylopic.org (Zimices/Julián Bayona, CC BY 3.0 DEED). Scale bar equals 10 mm.

  Artistic reconstruction of Megadolodus molariformis from the Middle Miocene URU-208 locality of the Fitzcarrald Local Fauna.

 Reconstruction by Miguel Hernandez.

CONCLUSION: 

We describe a bunodont upper molar from the late Middle Miocene Fitzcarrald Local Fauna of Peruvian Amazonia as belonging to the proterotheriid megadolodine Megadolodus molariformis (Fig. 4). This record further increases the faunal similarity between Fitzcarrald and other Middle Miocene faunas from Western Amazonia, including La Venta (Colombia) and TAR-31 (Tarapoto area, Peru). This similarity increases the confidence in assignment of the fauna of the Fitzcarrald arch to the Laventan stage.

...

Oscar E. Wilson, Juan D. Carrillo, Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Aldo Benites-Palomino ,Fabien L. Condamine, Laurent Marivaux, François Pujos, Andrea Sánchez-Meseguer and Juha Saarinen. 2024. Southernmost Record of Megadolodus (Litopterna, Proterotheriidae, Megadolodinae) from the late Middle Miocene of Fitzcarrald, Peruvian Amazonia, and mesowear analysis of diet in megadolodine litopterns. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.  e2413103. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2413103 

  Researchgate.net/publication/385517486_Southernmost_record_of_Megadolodus_from_the_late_Middle_Miocene_Peruvian_Amazonia

[PaleoOrnithology • 2024] A gigantic new Terror Bird (Cariamiformes: Phorusrhacidae) from Middle Miocene tropical environments of La Venta in northern South America

  

'Phorusrhacinae' Gen. et sp. indet. [MT-0200]

in Degrange, Cooke, Ortiz-Pabon, Pelegrin, Perdomo, Salas-Gismondi & Link, 2024.

DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1601 

 x.com/ThePalAss 

  facebook.com/PaleobiologiaUN

Abstract

Our knowledge of the fossil avifauna from the Middle Miocene La Venta locality in Colombia is limited almost entirely to aquatic birds. Phorusrhacidae, popularly known as ‘terror birds’, are a group of highly diversified cursorial birds that played the role of apex predators during most of the Cenozoic. Here we present the first record of a phorusrhacid from the La Venta locality. This terror bird can be assigned to the ‘Phorusrhacinae’, a subfamily for which the monophyly is under debate. The fragment of left distal tibiotarsus represents the most northern record of this group for South America and may correspond to the largest terror bird that ever existed. This suggests that terror birds might also have inhabited more tropical ecosystems, providing evidence that they were apex predators in tropical palaeocommunities. Additionally, our research contributes to an understanding of the biogeographical patterns of the Phorusrhacidae lineage dispersal into northern South America and subsequent colonization of North America.

Keywords: terror bird, La Venta, predator, palaeoecosystem, Miocene, phorusrhacid

Class: Aves 

Order: Cariamiformes 

Family: Phorusrhacidae 

Subfamily: 'Phorusrhacinae'

 Gen. et sp. indet.

MT-0200

Federico J. Degrange, Siobhan B. Cooke, Luis G. Ortiz-Pabon, Jonathan S. Pelegrin, Cesar A. Perdomo, Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi and Andrés Link. 2024. A gigantic new Terror Bird (Cariamiformes, Phorusrhacidae) from Middle Miocene tropical environments of La Venta in northern South America. Papers in Palaeontology. DOI: doi.org/10.1002/spp2.1601 

  x.com/ThePalAss/status/1853430761765957982

  facebook.com/PaleobiologiaUN/posts/1181483590175198

  facebook.com/PaleontologiaenColombia/posts/1078533020940011

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Romaleodelphis pollerspoecki • An archaic Dolphin from the Central Paratethys (Early Miocene, Austria)

Romaleodelphis pollerspoecki

Sanchez-Posada, Racicot, Ruf, Krings & Rössner, 2024 

DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2401503 

www.LMU.de

 

ABSTRACT

A new long-snouted homodont odontocete fossil from the Lower Miocene of Austria (ca. 22.5–22.0 Ma) is formally described and interpreted based on external skull characteristics supplemented by CT and µCT data. The specimen was found in deposits from the Central Paratethys and includes an incomplete and fragmented cranium and mandible as well as ear bones. It differs markedly from previously identified long-snouted archaic dolphins with single-rooted, homodont dentition, and thus is suggestive of a new taxon, for which the name Romaleodelphis pollerspoecki proposed. The geological context of R. pollerspoecki hints at a neritic habitat in close vicinity to estuarine environments. Romaleodelphis pollerspoecki shares key features with certain members of the so-called ‘Chilcacetus clade’ such as the widening of the premaxillae at the rostrum base and the absence of a deep lateral groove along the rostrum; however, a phylogenetic analysis reconstructs R. pollerspoecki in a polytomy with members of this ‘clade’ and a larger clade including many other taxa. To better understand the phylogenetic relationships of these taxa, comprehensive reexamination of Argryocetus and Macrodelphinus will be necessary. Measurements obtained through µCT-based internal anatomical reconstruction of the bony labyrinth indicate that R. pollerspoecki had the ability to hear specialized high-frequency signals similar to modern narrow-band high-frequency (NBHF) specialists. This work further identifies several extinct platanistoids as hearing within the NBHF spectrum, increasing the understanding of the diversity of ecological adaptations in early-diverging odontocetes and providing more examples of convergent evolution of this hearing type.

Romaleodelphis pollerspoecki, gen. et sp. nov.

 

Catalina Sanchez-Posada, Rachel A. Racicot, Irina Ruf, Michael Krings and Gertrud E. Rössner. 2024. Romaleodelphis pollerspoecki, gen. et sp. nov., An archaic Dolphin from the Central Paratethys (Early Miocene, Austria). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.  e2401503. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2401503

Archaic dolphin could hear high frequency sounds

 www.LMU.de/en/newsroom/news-overview/news/archaic-dolphin-could-hear-high-frequency-sounds.html

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Prosantorhinus yei • The First record of the Genus Prosantorhinus (Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae) of East Asia

Prosantorhinus yei

Sun, Deng & Wang, 2024

DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad183

 

Abstract

Prosantorhinus is a genus of small extinct teleoceratine rhinoceroses with shortened limb bones, widely distributed in Europe. However, the Asian evolution of the teleoceratine Prosantorhinus has remained unclear because of a scarcity of fossil records of the genus. Here, we report the first record of Prosantorhinus in East Asia from the Middle Miocene of Tongxin, Ningxia. The new specimen is characterized by a concave dorsal skull profile and elevated nasals; short and stout nasal bones with drooping margins on both sides; the thickened, enlarged, and roughened nasal extremity supporting a small horn; the semi-molarized upper premolars with a lingual bridge between the protocone and hypocone; the metaloph constriction present on P2–4; the protocone equal to the hypocone on P2; the crista present on P3; and the cement on the cheek teeth developed. With all the morphological evidence considered, we establish a new species, Prosantorhinus yei sp. nov.. A phylogenetic analysis based on 282 morphological characters scored for 36 taxa reveals that Prosantorhinus yei sp. nov. is a relatively derived taxon in the genus. We hypothesize that Prosantorhinus yei sp. nov. lived in relatively moist environments.

Prosantorhinus, Middle Miocene, phylogeny, palaeoecology, China

Prosantorhinus yei sp. nov.

Danhui Sun, Tao Deng and Shiqi Wang. 2024. The First record of the Genus Prosantorhinus (Perissodactyla: Rhinocerotidae) of East Asia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 202(2); zlad183, DOI: doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad183

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Miodelphinus miensis • A New platanistoid (Odontoceti: Squalodelphinidae) from the Early Miocene of Japan

Miodelphinus miensis

 Tanaka & Nakagawa, 2024

DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2024.2378783  

Abstract

Extant Ganges and Indus river dolphins are endangered species, but their relatives were more diverse in the past. The family Squalodelphinidae is a group of Miocene relatives of Ganges and Indus river dolphins. Our knowledge of squalodelphinids increased slowly in the nineteenth century and has expanded dramatically since the 2010s. Italy, Switzerland, eastern USA, Argentina, and Peru are fossil localities of named and well-preserved squalodelphinid fossils. Squalodelphinids are also known from New Zealand, Germany and Venezuela. However, only two specimens of this family have been reported from the North Pacific, in Washington State, USA, and Japan. Here, a new fossil dolphin (including the skull, right and left periotics and bullae, malleus, incus, hyoid bones and ribs) from the Haze Formation, Ichishi Group, Early Miocene (18.7–18.5 Ma) of Mie Prefecture, Japan is named as the new genus and species Miodelphinus miensis. Phylogenetic analysis places Miodelphinus miensis among squalodelphinids. The periotic of Miodelphinus miensis shows a large, posteriorly widened, ventrally opening, funnel-like articular depression between the posterior and articular processes of the periotic. Miodelphinus miensis contributes to expanding our knowledge of squalodelphinid diversity. Squalodelphinids were distributed widely not only in the Atlantic but also the South and North Pacific by the Early Miocene. This suggests that the family had a chronologically deeper origin such as the beginning of the Early Miocene or older.  

Keywords: Cetacea, Odontoceti, Burdigalian, epitympanic hiatus, Squalodelphinidae, new genus and species

  Miodelphinus miensis

 

Yoshihiro Tanaka and Ryohei Nakagawa. 2024. A New platanistoid (Odontoceti: Squalodelphinidae) from the Early Miocene of Japan. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 22(1); 2378783. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2024.2378783  

  www.bunka.pref.mie.lg.jp/MieMu/m0062500408.htm

  www.city.sapporo.jp/museum/curator/documents/gakugeiinirukakenkyuteisei.pdf

[PaleoEntomology • 2024] Baladi warru • A New exceptionally preserved Sawfly Fossil (Hymenoptera: Pergidae) and an Evaluation of its utility for Divergence Time Estimation and Biogeography

 

Baladi warru Rodriguez, Frese & Macdonald, 

in Rodriguez, Frese, Dettmann, Chavoshi-Jolfaei et Macdonald, 2024.

DOI: doi.org/10.1111/syen.12653

 www.CSIRO.au

Abstract

We report the discovery of the first fossil of an Australian species of Pergidae, Baladi warru gen. et sp. n., found at McGraths Flat, a newly discovered Miocene Konservat-Lagerstätte in central New South Wales. Using morphological data from the well-preserved fossil, along with a previously published molecular dataset of 59 taxa and a newly generated molecular dataset for 8 taxa, we constructed a data matrix and generated the first chronogram for Pergidae that incorporates internal calibration points. Our data reveal that Baladi warru belongs to the subfamily Perginae and is closely related to the Australian genera Cerealces and Xyloperga (tribe Cerealcini). According to our analysis, the origin of Pergidae appears slightly younger than previously hypothesised; however, additional calibration points are needed for a more detailed age constraint. Furthermore, ancestral character reconstruction indicates four independent adaptations to toxic Myrtaceae as host plants, while biogeographic analyses suggest that sympatry followed by founder events were the primary processes shaping the current disjunct distribution of pergids. Two significant founder events correspond with transitions to utilising Myrtaceae as host plants. With the approval of the Mudgee Local Aboriginal Land Council, Wiradjuri words were used to name the newly described species. ‘Baladi’ means ‘saw’ and ‘warru’ means ‘wasp’. This name honours the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the fossil was collected.

Systematic palaeontology

Superfamily Tenthredinoidea.

Family Pergidae Rohwer, 1911.

Subfamily Perginae Ashmead, 1898.

Tribe Cerealcini Benson, 1939.

Genus Baladi Rodriguez, Frese & Macdonald new genus.

Type species: Baladi warru Rodriguez, Frese & Macdonald new species by original designation.

 

Diagnosis: Antennae with at least seven segments; singular distal tarsal plantulae with transverse rugosity on the ventral surface (Figure 1c–e); forewing venation with cell 1 M shorter than vein M + Cu, vein 2MCu present, 2r cross-vein absent, distal free section of vein SC appearing like a cross-vein (Sc and R fused), vein 2R present, vein 2A absent (Figure 2b,c); hindwing venation with vein RM joining RS after it has diverged from SC + R (R cell longer than SC + R), crossvein m-cu absent, and cell 2A absent (Figure 2b,c).

Occurrence: McGraths Flat, Gulgong, New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Derivation of name: The name “baladi” is a Wiradjuri word meaning “saw” or “serrated” (Grant & Rudder, 2010); it is to be treated as feminine in gender. The use of the name was approved by the Mudgee Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Baladi warru Rodriguez, Frese & Macdonald new species.

Derivation of name: The name “warru” is the Wiradjuri word for wasp or hornet (Grant & Rudder, 2010); it is to be treated as a noun in apposition. The use of the name was approved by the Mudgee Local Aboriginal Land Council.

  Reconstruction of Baladi warru with larvae and Quintinia flowers.

Artwork by  Alex Boersma 

With the approval of the Mudgee Local Aboriginal Land Council, Wiradjuri words were used to name the newly described species of sawfly 'Baladi warru'.

Artwork by  Alex Boersma

Juanita Rodriguez, Michael Frese, Mary Dettmann, Mahin Chavoshi-Jolfaei and John Macdonald. 2024. A New exceptionally preserved Sawfly Fossil (Hymenoptera: Pergidae) and an Evaluation of its utility for Divergence Time Estimation and Biogeography. Systematic Entomology. DOI: doi.org/10.1111/syen.12653

Fossil sawfly discovery 16 million years in the making

The find is the first of its kind in Australia, and sheds new light on the co-evolution of insects and toxic plants.

 www.CSIRO.au/en/news/All/News/2024/October/Fossil-sawfly-discovery-16-million-years-in-the-making

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] The Postcranial Skeleton of Amphimoschus Bourgeois, 1873 (Cetartiodactyla: Ruminantia: Pecora) sheds light on Its Phylogeny and the Evolution of the clade Cervoidea

 Amphimoschus, autopodial morphology and palaeoecological implications

in Sánchez, Cantalapiedra, DeMiguel, Azanza, Strani et Morales, 2024. 

DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2024.2386020  

Art by Flavia Strani.

Abstract

Here we present the first description of the postcranial skeleton of Amphimoschus, an enigmatic hornless ruminant known from the late Early to the late Middle Miocene of Eurasia (c. 17.5–13.8 Ma). This new fossil material that includes several elements of the appendicular skeleton comes from the French sites of Pontlevoy (MN5), Aérotrain (MN4), and Artenay (MN4). The postcranial skeleton of Amphimoschus is relevant to determine its phylogenetic affinities within the Pecora and to better understand the evolution of cervoids, the pecoran ruminants more closely related to deer. Our total-evidence tip-dating phylogenetic analysis recovers three well-supported main lineages of crown pecorans (Giraffomorpha, Bovidomorpha and Cervidomorpha) and places Amphimoschus as a basal member of a monophyletic Cervoidea. Thus, we reject the recent assignment of Amphimoschus to the Bovoidea, and confirm the presence of hornless forms at the base of the cervoid clade. We define the Cervoidea as the least inclusive clade of crown pecorans including Amphimoschus and the Cervidae. We also define the Cervidomorpha as the least inclusive clade of crown pecorans containing Namibiomeryx and the Cervidae. Cervidomorphs were relatively successful in the Miocene, spreading through Africa, Eurasia and North America during the Early–Middle Miocene. Amphimoschus xishuiensis Y.-K. Li et al., 2021 is recovered here as the closest sister group to the Bovidae and hence cannot be considered to belong to the genus Amphimoschus. We erect for it the new genus Dimidiomeryx. Our topology adds complexity to the recently revamped hypothesis based on molecular data regarding the single origin of the cranial appendages in pecoran ruminants. Amphimoschus probably had a sitatunga-like lifestyle, sporting sprawling-out fingers with very long third phalanges, long limbs and a general configuration of the appendicular skeleton that probably allowed it to live in swampy/semiaquatic environments.

Keywords: body size, Cervoidea, headgear, Ruminantia, phylogeny, Miocene

 

 Amphimoschus, autopodial morphology and palaeoecological implications. A, composite articulated right anterior autopodium of Amphimoschus from Artenay (right digit mirrored from the single preserved one) showing the c. 34° angle formed by Amphimoschus digits (similar to extant Moschus), with digits in neutral articulation position and the collateral ligaments (marked in green) showing the vector of their action (green arrows); B, reconstruction of an adult male Amphimoschus in its postulated habitat; C, detail of Amphimoschus left manus and right pes showing the elongated sitatunga-like main hooves and the flat stance of the digits III–IV against the ground.

Art by Flavia Strani.

Israel M. Sánchez, Juan L. Cantalapiedra, Daniel DeMiguel, Beatriz Azanza, Flavia Strani and Jorge Morales. 2024. The Postcranial Skeleton of Amphimoschus Bourgeois, 1873 (Cetartiodactyla, Ruminantia, Pecora) sheds light on Its Phylogeny and the Evolution of the clade Cervoidea. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 22(1);  2386020. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2024.2386020  

  x.com/FlaviaStrani/status/1838203238048239701

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Badjcinus timfaulkneri, Nimbacinus peterbridgei & Ngamalacinus nigelmarveni • Three New thylacinids (Marsupialia: Thylacinidae) from late Oligocene Deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland, Australia

Nimbacinus peterbridgei (top right) and Ngamalacinus nigelmarveni (bottom right)
interacting with Kuterintja ngama (top left) and Gumardee springae (bottom left). 

Churchill, Archer & Hand, 2024

DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2384595  

Illustration by Peter Schouten.

ABSTRACT

New thylacinid species of Badjcinus, Nimbacinus, and Ngamalacinus are described from upper Oligocene deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. Badjcinus timfaulkneri, Nimbacinus peterbridgei, and Ngamalacinus nigelmarveni are among the oldest thylacinids yet known and indicate an earlier diversification of the family than previously understood. Maximum parsimony analysis supports a sister group relationship between Ng. nigelmarveni and Ng. timmulvaneyi, but the relationships of the two other new taxa are unresolved. Bayesian dated total evidence analysis using morphological and molecular data supports the generic assignment of B. timfaulkneri and Ng. nigelmarveni but not that of Ni. peterbridgei. Both phylogenies herein support a taxonomic reassignment of Thylacinus macknessi to the genus Wabulacinus, a conclusion also supported by the results of previous studies. Body mass estimates based on molar size regressions indicate body sizes ranging from 3.7 kg to 11.4 kg for the new thylacinid species. Badjcinus timfaulkneri exhibits an extremely deep jaw compared with other thylacinids, with mandibular bending strength analysis suggesting that it was a highly durophagous carnivore much like the modern dasyurid Sarcophilus harrisii. This analysis also suggests Ni. peterbridgei had a dentary more similar in shape to that of plesiomorphic thylacinid faunivores such as Ni. dicksoni and T. cynocephalus suggesting that it had a relatively more generalist faunivorous diet. The molars of Ng. nigelmarveni suggest they were better suited for longitudinal slicing than the molars of B. timfaulkneri and Ni. peterbridgei, indicating a more hypercarnivorous diet compared with that of those species.

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

MAMMALIA Linnaeus, 1758

MARSUPIALIA Illiger, 1811 sensu Beck et al., 2014

DASYUROMORPHIA Gill, 1872 sensu Kealy & Beck 2017

THYLACINIDAE Bonaparte, 1838

BADJCINUS Muirhead & Wroe, 1998

BADJCINUS TIMFAULKNERI sp. nov. 

Species Diagnosis—Badjcinus timfaulkneri differs from all other known thylacinids in possessing the following combination of lower dental features: large diastemas between both p1–p2 and p2–p3; broad talonids on all lower molars; m1 paraconid and paracristid highly reduced; m1 metaconid absent; m2–4 metaconids reduced; m4 larger than m3; three cusps on m4 talonid; two mental foramina below midpoints of m1 and m2. Badjcinus timfaulkneri differs from B. turnbulli in the following lower dental features: p1 less reduced in size relative to p2 and p3; larger diastemata between p1–p2 and p2–p3; anterior cingulid absent on m1; talonids broader on all molars.

Etymology—The species name timfaulkneri honors Tim Faulkner, head of conservation at the Australian Reptile Park and founder of The Devil Ark, for his life’s dedication to the conservation of dasyuromorphian marsupials and of Australian wildlife in general.

Holotype—QM F61721 (Fig. 1) is a near complete right dentary of an adult individual retaining p2 and m1–4, with alveoli for p1 and p3. Dental measurements are given in Table 1.

Nimbacinus peterbridgei (top right) and Ngamalacinus nigelmarveni (bottom right) interacting with Kuterintja ngama (top left) and Gumardee springae (bottom left).

 Illustration by Peter Schouten.

NIMBACINUS Muirhead & Archer, 1989

NIMBACINUS PETERBRIDGEI sp. nov.

Species Diagnosis—Nimbacinus peterbridgei differs from the larger Ni. dicksoni in the following combination of lower dental features: the premolars and molars markedly less robust overall; the anterior cingulid on m2–4 extends beyond the buccal extremity of the trigonid; the cristid obliqua less transverse; the m4 trigonid angle is smaller; the m4 hypoconulid is large and is situated at the transverse midpoint of the talonid, rather than being lingually proximal to the entoconid; the hypoconid and entoconid are less reduced on m4.

Etymology—The species name peterbridgei honors mineralogist Peter Bridge OAM who has dedicated his life to bringing the past of Australia’s natural and cultural history into the present by supporting our paleontological field expeditions and publishing as well as authoring via Hesperian Press hundreds of books about Australia’s extraordinary human and natural history.

Holotype—QM F61723 (Fig. 3) is a right dentary preserving p1, p3, m2–4 and alveoli for p2 and m1. Dental measurements are shown in Table 2.

NGAMALACINUS Muirhead, 1997

NGAMALACINUS NIGELMARVENI Sp. Nov.

 

Species Diagnosis—Ngamalacinus nigelmarveni differs from Ng. timmulvaneyi in the following lower dental features; trigonids broader; trigonid angles smaller; entoconids and hypoconulids not closely twinned on m2–3; m3 entoconid smaller than that cusp in m2; metacristid longer on m2; m4 talonid broader; m4 posterior cristid longer and more transverse, with a distinct postmetacristid valley near the junction of the posthypocristid and prehypoconulecristid; m4 hypoconulid larger; m4 posterior cingulid longer and contacts the base of the postmetacristid valley.

Etymology—The species name nigelmarveni honors British television presenter and naturalist Nigel Marven for his lifetime dedication to inspiring young paleontologists through his unique and daring style of presenting documentaries on ancient life.

 

Timothy J. Churchill, Michael Archer and Suzanne J. Hand. 2024. Three New thylacinids (Marsupialia, Thylacinidae) from late Oligocene Deposits of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, northwestern Queensland. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2384595. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2384595  

  www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2024/09/three-new-ancestors-tasmanian-tigers

[PaleoIchthyology • 2024] Bunocephalus serranoi • First Fossil Record of Aspredinidae: A New Species from the late Miocene of northeastern Argentina

Bunocephalus serranoi

 Bogan & Agnolin, 2024

 

DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5493.4.5   

 Researchgate.net/publication/383064860

Abstract

This study aims to describe a new fossil species of the extant aspredinid genus Bunocephalus. The new species is represented by a nearly complete skull and pectoral girdle coming from late Miocene Ituzaingó Formation beds of Paraná City, Entre Ríos Province, Argentina. The specimen constitutes the first fossil record for the genus and the family Aspredinidae. This finding demonstrates that large temporal and geographical gaps are still present in the fossil record of the South American continent, evidencing the lack of knowledge of the geographical and temporal distribution of many freshwater fish clades.

Pisces, Ituzaingó Formation, Paraná City, Neogene, Siluriformes, Bunocephalus

Holotype of Bunocephalus serranoi nov. sp. (MAS-PV-795) compared with extant Bunocephalus doriae (CFAIC- 6516) in A, C, dorsal; and B, D, ventral views.

Abbreviations. Cl, cleithrum; Cl S, cleithrum suture; Cor, coracoid; Cor S, coracoid suture; Dor lam Web, dorsal lamina of the Weberian apparatus; Dor P, dorsal process of cleithrum; Hum P, humeral process of cleithrum; Hyo, hyomandibular; Op, opercle Po, preopercle; Scl, supracleithrum; Sp, pectoral spine. Scale bar: 5 mm.

Reconstruction of Bunocephalus serranoi 

 Bunocephalus serranoi nov. sp.

Sergio Bogan and Federico L. Agnolin. 2024. First Fossil Record of Aspredinidae: A New Species from the late Miocene of northeastern Argentina.  Zootaxa. 5493(4);  392-400. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5493.4.5  

  Researchgate.net/publication/383064860_FIRST_FOSSIL_RECORD_of_ASPREDINIDAE_A_New_Species_from the_Late_MIOCENE_of_NE_ARGENTINA

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] New insights on the Ecology and Behavior of Machairodus aphanistus (Carnivora: Felidae: Machairodontinae) through the Paleopathological Study of the Fossil Sample from the Late Miocene (Vallesian, MN 10) of Cerro de los Batallones (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain)

Reconstruction of a hunting scene in the Cerro de los Batallones during the Late Miocene:
 Machairodus aphanistus killed a three-toe horse of the genus Hipparion.

in Salesa, Hernández, Marín, Siliceo, ... et García-Fernández, 2024. 

DOI: 10.1007/s10914-024-09721-8 

facebook.com/ManuelSalesa

Artwork by Mauricio Antón

Abstract

The Late Miocene natural traps of Cerro de los Batallones (Madrid, Spain) have yielded thousands of fossils of vertebrates, mostly carnivoran mammals such as hyaenids, amphicyonids, ailurids, mustelids, ursids, and felids, especially Batallones-1 and Batallones-3. Among these carnivorans, the tiger-sized saber-toothed felid Machairodus aphanistus was the top predator of the association, and one of the most abundant taxa, represented by thousands of fossils, including several examples of bone pathologies that have never been studied. In this work, we carry out a paleopathological analysis of some of these pathologies from the Batallones sample of this large early machairodontine, with a description of the pathological changes that occurred in the affected bones, a possible diagnosis, and the ethological and ecological consequences of the presence of these diseases in the living animal. The pathological sample of M. aphanistus studied here included a calcaneus and a Mc III from Batallones-1, and a mandible from Batallones-3. The fossils were X-rayed, and their pathologies were described and compared to non-pathological bones. The calcaneus showed a bone callus indicative of osteitis/osteomyelitis or a tumor; the mandible had evidence of the development of an abscess located in the left mandibular body; and the Mc III shows a marked osteosclerosis. These injuries affected the hunting ability of these individuals and gradually weakened them, very likely contributing to their final entrapment in the Batallones cavities, where they were attracted by the presence of previously trapped animals.

Keywords: Bone pathology, Cenozoic, Felidae, Paleontology

Reconstruction of a hunting scene in the Cerro de los Batallones during the Late Miocene: two adult males of Machairodus aphanistus have subdued and killed a three-toe horse of the genus Hipparion.

Artwork by M. Antón

Manuel J. Salesa, Bárbara Hernández, Pilar Marín, Gema Siliceo, Irene Martínez, Mauricio Antón, María Isabel García-Real, Juan Francisco Pastor and Rosa Ana García-Fernández. 2024. New insights on the Ecology and Behavior of Machairodus aphanistus (Carnivora, Felidae, Machairodontinae) through the Paleopathological Study of the Fossil Sample from the Late Miocene (Vallesian, MN 10) of Cerro de los Batallones (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 31, 21. DOI: 10.1007/s10914-024-09721-8

 facebook.com/ManuelSalesa/posts/10159810523766994

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Buronius manfredschmidi • A New small hominid (Primates: Hominidae) from the early late Miocene of Hammerschmiede (Bavaria, Germany)

 

Buronius manfredschmidi  

 Böhme, Begun,Holmes, Lechner & Ferreira, 2024

 

 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301002

Abstract

The known diversity of European middle and late Miocene hominids has increased significantly during the last decades. Most of these great apes were frugivores in the broadest sense, ranging from soft fruit frugivores most like chimpanzees to hard/tough object feeders like orangutans, varying in size from larger than siamangs (over 17 kg) to larger than most chimpanzees (~60–70 kg). In contrast to the frequent sympatry of hominoids in the early-to-middle Miocene of Africa, in no European Miocene locality more than one hominid taxon has been identified. Here we describe the first case of hominid sympatry in Europe from the 11.62 Ma old Hammerschmiede HAM 5 level, best known from its excellent record of Danuvius guggenmosi. The new fossils are consistent in size with larger pliopithecoids but differ morphologically from any pliopithecoid and from Danuvius. They are also distinguished from early and middle Miocene apes, share affinities with late Miocene apes, and represent a small hitherto unknown late Miocene ape Buronius manfredschmidi. With an estimated body mass of about 10 kg it represents the smallest known hominid taxon. The relative enamel thickness of Buronius is thin and contrasts with Danuvius, whose enamel is twice as thick. The differences between Buronius and Danuvius in tooth and patellar morphology, enamel thickness and body mass are indicative of differing adaptations in each, permitting resource partitioning, in which Buronius was a more folivorous climber.

Buronius manfredschmidi nov. gen. et sp. photographs.
Upper panel: holotype left upper M2 (GPIT/MA/13005), A–occlusal, B–buccal, C–lingual, D–mesial, E–distal.
 Lower panel: paratype left lower P4 (GPIT/MA/13004), F–occlusal, G–buccal, H–lingual, I–mesial, J–distal. Scale bars equal 10 mm.

These 3D prints of the two molars are magnified by a factor of ten. The enamel of the likely Buronius manfredschmidi tooth (left) is very thin, indicating it was an herbivore. The thick enamel of the likely Danuvius guggenmosi tooth (right) suggests it was an omnivore.

Berthold Steinhilber / University of Tübingen

Systematic paleontology

Order Primates Linnaeus, 1758

Infraorder Catarrhini Geoffroy, 1812

Family Hominidae Gray 1825

Buronius manfredschmidi nov. gen. et sp.

Holotype: GPIT/MA/13005: An unworn left upper M2 germ, crown complete with no root formation

Derivation nominis: Genus name after Buron, the medieval name for the city of Kaufbeuren, which is located 5 km to the south of the Hammerschmiede clay-pit. The specific epithet is in honour of Dr. med. dent. Manfred Schmid (Marktoberdorf), a private collector who joined Sigulf Guggenmoos in collecting fossils from Hammerschmiede since the late 1970’s.

M. Böhme, D. R. Begun, A. C. Holmes, T. Lechner and G. Ferreira. 2024. Buronius manfredschmidi—A New small hominid from the early late Miocene of Hammerschmiede (Bavaria, Germany). PLoS ONE. 19(6): e0301002. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301002

 www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/do-these-fossilized-teeth-belong-to-the-worlds-smallest-great-ape-180984489

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Opalios splendens, Dharragarra aurora, Parvopalus clytiei, ... • A Diverse Assemblage of Monotremes (Monotremata) from the Cenomanian Lightning Ridge Fauna of New South Wales, Australia

  

Opalios splendens gen. et sp. nov.
Dharragarra aurora gen. et sp. nov.
Parvopalus clytiei gen. et sp. nov.

Flannery, McCurry, Rich, Vickers-Rich, Smith & Helgen, 2024

DOI: 10.1080/03115518.2024.2348753 

artwork: Peter Schouten.

Abstract

Six species of monotremes, three newly described here, occur in the Cenomanian fossil fauna from Lightning Ridge in northeastern New South Wales, Australia, making it the most diverse monotreme assemblage on record. Four species are known from a single specimen, suggesting that diversity remains underrepresented. No other mammal lineages are known from the deposit, although the absence of smaller taxa is likely due to sampling biases introduced by the opal mining process. Early-Late Cretaceous monotremes thus clearly diversified in Australia during the absence of other large-bodied mammalian competitors; and subsequently occupied a wider range of ecological niches than at any other time in their evolutionary history. One new taxon described herein represents a previously unknown monotreme family that combines marked elongation and torsion of the dentary with teinolophid character states, including the retention of five molars. Another shares dental features with ornithorhynchids, while the third is a possible diminutive steropodontid and simultaneously represents the smallest-bodied post-Barremian monotreme. Additional material of Steropodon galmani is also documented, confirming that a Meckelian groove is rudimentary or absent in this taxon, thus adding to the morphological understanding of this unusual monotreme. Lastly, we posit that the loss of teeth in ornithorhynchids may have occurred during the Pleistocene as a result of competition with aquatic hydromyin rodents dispersing to Australia from New Guinea.

Keywords: Mammal, opalized fossils, Late Cretaceous, Mesozoic, Eastern Gondwana

Systematic palaeontology

MAMMALIA Linnaeus, 1758

MONOTREMATA Bonaparte, 1837 or 1838

ORNITHORHYNCHOIDEA superfam. nov.

Diagnosis: Distinguished amongst other Monotremata by torsion of the dentary, whereby the lingual surface of the distal portions of the dentaries faces dorsally and are dorsoventrally flattened (except Tachyglossidae); and the distal portion of the masseteric canal being divided into three wide moieties (except Tachyglossidae).

OPALIONIDAE fam. nov.

Opalios splendens gen. et sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Differs from all monotremes except Teinolophos trusleri in possessing five molars rather than four or fewer (Fig. 2A, B). Differs from T. trusleri in being much larger and possessing: a lower ascending ramus; an articular facet below the level of the toothrow (Fig. 2C, D); a hemispherical depression for insertion of the masseteric musculature on the buccal side of the dentary (Fig. 2C, D); the anterior portion of the dentary twisted (torsion) such that the lingual surface faces dorsally and the anterior dentary is dorsoventrally flattened (Fig. 2A, B, E, F); a much reduced or absent Meckelian groove (Fig. 2E, F); an extremely dorsoventrally shallow mandibular symphysis (Fig. 2F). Differs from all other monotremes except stem and crown ornithorhynchids by exhibiting torsion of the horizontal ramus of the dentary. We consider Opalios splendens to be the basal-most diverging taxon within Ornithorhynchoidea.

Etymology: The genus name refers to ‘opal’ in Greek. The species name refers to the large size and spectacular translucency of the holotype (AM F132596–AM F132599), which provides views of its internal structure.

Family ?ORNITHORHYNCHIDAE Gray, Citation1825

Dharragarra aurora gen. et sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Differs from teinolophids in lacking a Meckelian groove, possessing dentary torsion and three molars, and in lacking diastemata between the premolars. Differs from kollikodontids in possessing an enlarged mandibular canal, in possessing three rather than four molars and in possessing dentary torsion. Differs from Steropodontids in possessing dentary torsion, having a dorsoventrally flattened dentary, and a more reduced posterior molar. Differs from Opalios splendens in having three molars rather than five, and in lacking diastemata between p1 and p2. Amongst ornithorhynchoids, Dharragarra aurora differs from the species of Obdurodon and Ornithorhynchus in having molars with two roots rather than more than two; from Patagorhynchus pascuali in being larger; from Monotrematum sudamericanum in being smaller.

Etymology: The genus name derives from ‘Dharragarra’, meaning platypus in the Gamilaraay, Yuwaalaraay and Yuwaalayaay languages (Ash et al. Citation2003). The species name is Latin for ‘dawn’.

STEROPODONTIDAE Archer, Flannery, Ritchie & Molnar, Citation1985

Steropodon galmani Archer, Flannery, Ritchie & Molnar, Citation1985

?STEROPODONTIDAE

Parvopalus clytiei gen. et sp. nov.

Etymology: Genus name is Latin for ‘small opal’. Species is named for Clytie Smith (Lightning Ridge), who has recovered many opal fossils at Lightning Ridge.

Six monotremes [100 million years ago] at Lightning Ridge, New South Wales, Australia;
clockwise from lower left: Opalios splendens; Stirtodon elizabethae, the largest monotreme of the time; Kollikodon ritchiei, with hot-cross-bun shaped molars; Steropodon galmani, now known from additional opalized fossils; Parvopalus clytiei, the smallest monotreme of the time; and Dharragarra aurora, the earliest known species of platypus.

artwork: Peter Schouten.

Conclusions: 

The co-occurrence of six morphologically distinct fossil mammal taxa (three named herein) in the Lightning Ridge faunal assemblage from the Finch Clay facies of the Griman Creek Formation provides the first indication that Australia was home to a hitherto cryptic diversity of monotremes during the mid-Cretaceous (as predicted by Darlington Citation1957).

• The newly described Opalios splendens is annectant between a teinolophid-like ancestral monotreme morphotype and more derived ornithorhynchoids.

• Dharragarra aurora demonstrates that the lower molar formula typical of Cenozoic ornithorhynchids was established by the Cenomanian.

• New specimens of Steropodon galmani, along with the new small-bodied taxon, Parvopalus clytiei, expand current knowledge of morphological diversity in Cenomanian monotremes.

• The loss of teeth in ornithorhynchids may have been related to ecological displacement caused by the arrival of aquatic rodents in Australia during the Pleistocene.

 

Timothy F. Flannery, Matthew R. McCurry, Thomas H. Rich, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Elizabeth T. Smith and Kristofer M. Helgen. 2024. A Diverse Assemblage of Monotremes (Monotremata) from the Cenomanian Lightning Ridge Fauna of New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. DOI: 10.1080/03115518.2024.2348753 

 www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/27/enormously-exciting-fossils-found-in-nsw-opal-field-suggest-australia-had-age-of-monotremes