scholarly journals New Paratethyan dwarf baleen whales mark the origin of cetotheres

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Gol'din
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Anterior Lobe ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Facial Bones ◽  
Baleen Whales ◽  
The Family ◽  
Juvenile Specimen ◽  
Stepwise Evolution

Background Family Cetotheriidae sensu stricto and several closely related taxa comprise the Cetotherioidea and represent a lineage of Neogene baleen whales that includes the smallest edentulous baleen whales in Earth history. Most of known cetotheriids came from the Late Miocene to Quaternary, and the earliest records from the latest Middle Miocene. The Paratethys region shows a great diversity of Middle to Late Miocene cetotheriids. That includes nominative taxon of the family, Cetotherium rathkii, and this suggests that the earliest cetotheriids may have lived in that region. Materials and methods Here, Ciuciulea davidi, a new genus and species from the Middle Miocene of southeastern Europe, is described as the chronologically earliest and earliest diverging member of Cetotheriidae. Also, a new specimen of Otradnocetus, a basal Cetotherioidea sensu Gol’din & Steeman, 2015 is identified from the Late Miocene deposits of Caucasus and compared with Otradnocetus virodovi from the Middle Miocene of the same region. Results and discussion Ciuciulea davidi is a dwarf whale displaying primitive traits: posterior ends of facial bones forming a single transverse line, a narrow occipital shield, and a relatively long interparietal region. Meanwhile, it shares some cetotheriid apomorphies: posteriorly telescoped wedge-shaped facial bones and an ovoid tympanic bulla with shallow lateral and medial furrows, a short anterior lobe and a short sigmoid process. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Parietobalaena and Otradnocetus are branches diverging before the clade Cetotheriidae + Neobalaenidae. This is confirmed by the stepwise evolution of the anatomy of the squamosal, mandible, and ear bones across these groups. The re-described juvenile specimen of Otradnocetus differs from O. virodovi in the more primitive anatomy of the mandible and the autapomorphic anatomy of the humerus. Records of the earliest cetotheriids and related taxa in the Paratethys support the idea that this could be the region where Cetotheriidae evolved before their worldwide dispersal and radiation.

scholarly journals Small early Miocene listriodont suid (Artiodactyla: Mammalia) from Sabuncubeli (Manisa, SW Anatolia), Turkey

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-337
Author(s):  
Martin Pickford ◽  
Tanju Kaya ◽  
Erhan Tarhan ◽  
Derya Erylmaz ◽  
Serdar Mayda
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Morphological Features ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
The Family

Turkey is known for the wealth of fossil suids found in deposits of middle Miocene, late Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene levels but material of this family from early Miocene and Palaeogene deposits is rare in the country, one of the few published occurrences being from Şemsettin (Kumartaş Formation, MN 4, Çankiri-Çorum Basin). For this reason, it is interesting to record the presence of small suid remains in the Soma Formation at Sabuncubeli (Manisa, SW Anatolia) in deposits correlated to MN 3 (early Miocene) and thus the earliest known Turkish members of the family. The upper and lower teeth are herein attributed to a new genus and species (Prolistriodon smyrnensis) of Listriodontinae because, in a nascent way, they show a suite of derived morphological features such as upper central incisors with apical sulci, and upper molars with lingual precrista, found in listriodonts but not in Kubanochoerinae, Palaeochoerinae, Tetracondontinae, Hyotheriinae, Namachoerinae, Cainochoerinae or Suinae.

A new argyrolagoid (Mammalia: Marsupialia) from the middle Miocene of Bolivia

1988 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Villarroel A. Carlos ◽  
Larry G. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Adaptive Radiation ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Northwest Argentina ◽  
The Family ◽  
Size And Structure

A new argyrolagoid marsupial, Hondalagus altiplanensis n. gen., n. sp., from the middle Miocene (Santacrucian–Friasian) age locality of Quebrada Honda in southernmost Bolivia represents the smallest and most specialized member of the family Argyrolagidae known. The lower molars are hypselodont and lack vertical grooves labially and lingually, and M4 is greatly reduced relative to M3. In overall size and structure, H. altiplanensis compares best with Microtragulus catamarcensis (Kraglievich, 1931) from rocks of late Miocene (Huayquerian) age in northwest Argentina. Hondalagus altiplanensis demonstrates that the adaptive radiation of argyrolagoids was much greater than previously envisioned, and that generic differentiation of known taxa occurred no later than early–middle Miocene time in South America.

A new genus and species of Sieblosiidae from the Middle Miocene of Germany (Odonata: Epiproctophora)

Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3582 (1) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
ANDRÉ NEL ◽  
GUNTHER FLECK
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Genus ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
The Third

Germanostenolestes lutzi, new genus and species of Sieblosiidae is described from the Middle Miocene of Öhningen (Germany). It probably belongs to the clade (Paraoligolestes + (Parastenolestes (Germanolestes + Stenolestes))) sensu Nel et al. (2005). It is the third representative of the Sieblosiidae described from this outcrop, showing that this family was still quite diverse in the Middle-Late Miocene.

A new thylacosmilid (Mammalia, Metatheria, Sparassodonta) from the Miocene of Patagonia, Argentina

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2552 (1) ◽  
pp. 55 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANALÍA M. FORASIEPI ◽  
ALFREDO A. CARLINI
Keyword(s):  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Dental Morphology ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Single Specimen ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
The West ◽  
Rio Negro ◽  
The Family

A new genus and species, Patagosmilus goini, of the family Thylacosmilidae (Mammalia, Metatheria, Sparassodonta) is described here. The new taxon is based on a single specimen collected from the west margin of the Río Chico, in Río Negro Province, Argentina, from the middle Miocene Colloncuran SALMA. Until now, two formally recognized species were encompassed in the family Thylacosmilidae: Thylacosmilus atrox, from the late Miocene-late Pliocene Huayquerian to Chapadmalalan SALMAof Argentina and probably Uruguay; and Anachlysictis gracilis, from the middle Miocene Laventan SALMA of Colombia. Recognition of the Patagonian taxon, Patagosmilus, provides new anatomical data, likely to be included in future phylogenetic analyses. The overall morphology of Patagosmilus suggests that it has a more generalized anatomy than Thylacosmilus. The dental morphology suggests the new Patagonian taxon was probably closer to Thylacosmilus than Anachlysictis. Saber-tooth thylacosmilids have several autapomorphic features in the skull that differentiate them from other sparassodonts, including the delayed replacement or non-replacement of the deciduous last premolar.

scholarly journals A new Mammutidae (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene of Gansu Province, China

2016 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
DIMILA MOTHÉ ◽  
LEONARDO S. AVILLA ◽  
DESI ZHAO ◽  
GUANGPU XIE ◽  
BOYANG SUN
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Gansu Province ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
Lower Incisors

ABSTRACT The "Yanghecun specimen", a proboscidean specimen represented by a mandible from Miocene of China and previously described as Gomphotheriidae, is here reviewed and described as a new genus and species of Mammutidae: Sinomammut tobieni. This taxon is a longirostrine mastodon, lacking lower tusks, and bearing a wide last molar with oblique and non-inflated lophids, broad transverse interlophids, and yoke-like wear figures. Phylogenetic analysis of Mammutidae based on dental and mandibular features recovered S. tobieni as sister group of the mastodon Mammut. The longirostrine condition and the well-developed lower incisors seem to be primitive for Mammutidae, while the brevirostry is the derived condition, probably emerged during the middle Miocene (12-11 Mya). However, two derived conditions are recognized to the lower tusks: the absence of lower tusks (S. tobieni) and the occasional presence of vestigial lower tusks (Mammut).

scholarly journals Scaldiporia vandokkumi, a new pontoporiid (Mammalia, Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Late Miocene to earliest Pliocene of the Westerschelde estuary (The Netherlands)

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaas Post ◽  
Stephen Louwye ◽  
Olivier Lambert
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
New Genus ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
The North ◽  
Westerschelde Estuary ◽  
The Family ◽  
The North Atlantic

Background The family Pontoporiidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Inioidea) is currently represented in our oceans by just one species of diminutive dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei, franciscana). Although P. blainvillei is limited to coastal waters of the South Atlantic along Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, multiple Miocene and Pliocene fossils indicate the past presence of members of the family in the South Atlantic, South Paciifc and North Atlantic oceans. Our comprehension of the origin and diversity of this clade and of the relationships of its members with other inioids is hampered by the fact that part of the described fossil specimens, especially from the North Atlantic realm, are cranial fragments often associated to limited stratigraphic information. Methods Based on an almost complete fossil cranium of pontoporiid from the Westerschelde estuary, The Netherlands, whose preservation allows for detailed morphological observations, we describe a new genus and species. The latter is compared to other pontoporiids, as well as a few non-pontoporiid inioids. A phylogenetic analysis is performed to investigate the relationship of S. vandokkumi with the best-known extinct and extant inioids. Palynological analysis of the sediment associated to the holotype is used to assess its geological age. Results and discussion The new genus and species Scaldiporia vandokkumi is characterized among others by greatly thickened premaxillary eminences reaching the level of the antorbital notch. Palynologically dated from the late Tortonian—earliest Zanclean (7.6–5 Ma, Late Miocene—earliest Pliocene), this new pontoporiid confirms the surprising past diversity of marine inioids in the North Atlantic area. Finally the content of the pontoporiid subfamily Brachydelphininae is briefly discussed.

Mystacinid bats (Microchiroptera) from the Australian Tertiary

1998 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. J. Hand ◽  
P. Murray ◽  
D. Megirian ◽  
M. Archer ◽  
H. Godthelp
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
South American ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
Three New Species

A new genus and three new species of the microchiropteran family Mystacinidae are described from Miocene freshwater limestones in northern Australia. The type species,Icarops brevicepsnew genus and species, is from the middle Miocene Bullock Creek deposit, Northern Territory;I. aenaenew species andI. paradoxnew species are from the slightly older (early Miocene) Wayne's Wok and Neville's Garden Sites at Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland. Fossil mystacinids are rare in each deposit and represented so far only by lower teeth and dentary fragments. They are characterized by a suite of apomorphies shared only with Quaternary mystacinids endemic to New Zealand. The family Mystacinidae has no pre-Pleistocene record and its relationships to other groups of bats remain unclear. Possible sister-groups include South American noctilionoids and the cosmopolitan molossoids and/or vespertilionoids. The presence of plesiomorphic mystacinids in the Australian Tertiary suggests an Australian origin for the family.

A new enigmatic genus of subterranean amphipod (Amphipoda : Bogidielloidea) from Terrell County, Texas, with the establishment of Parabogidiellidae, fam. nov., and notes on the family Bogidiellidae

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Cannizzaro ◽  
J. R. Gibson ◽  
T. R. Sawicki
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Mitochondrial Gene ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
New Genus And Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic ◽  
Large Distribution

The superfamily Bogidielloidea is one of the most wide-ranging hypogean amphipod taxa currently known, comprising over 130 species in 43 genera occurring on every continent except Antarctica. This large distribution among such cryptic organisms is curious, especially when combined with weak morphological characters uniting the superfamily. A unique new genus and species of bogidielloid amphipod, Simplexia longicrus, gen. et sp. nov., described from Terrell County, Texas, sheds light on the evolutionary relationships within this grouping. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the order Amphipoda using two nuclear genes and one mitochondrial gene reveal that this species and the sympatric Parabogidiella americana form a clade removed from other sequenced members of Bogidiellidae sensu stricto, and, as such, the two species are placed in the newly erected Parabogidiellidae, fam. nov. Additional phylogenetic analyses of the cosmopolitan Bogidiellidae are recommended to further resolve its systematics.

scholarly journals Relationships of cochlear coiling shape and hearing frequencies in cetaceans, and the occurrence of infrasonic hearing in Miocene Mysticeti

Fossil Record ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indira S. Ritsche ◽  
Julia M. Fahlke ◽  
Frank Wieder ◽  
André Hilger ◽  
Ingo Manke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inner Ear ◽  
Shape Analysis ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Baleen Whales ◽  
Extinct Species ◽  
Cranial Shape

Abstract. Baleen whales (Mysticeti) are known to use low frequencies (LF; 200 Hz and below) and infrasound (< 20 Hz) for communication. The lowest hearing limits of toothed whales (Odontoceti), which are able to produce ultrasound (> 20 kHz), reach low frequencies. Researchers have tried to understand the evolution of LF and infrasonic hearing in mysticetes by linking the shape of the inner ear cochlea or individual cochlear measurements to known hearing frequencies and making inferences to extinct species. Using landmark-based shape analysis of complete cochlear coiling, we show that cochlear coiling shape correlates with LF and high-frequency (HF; > 10 kHz) hearing limits in cetaceans. Very LF (≤ 50 Hz) and infrasonic hearing are associated with, for example, a protruding second turn, a descending apex, and a high number of turns. Correlations between cochlear and cranial variables and cochlear and cranial shape indicate that low LF hearing limits are furthermore connected to longer cochleae and relatively larger cranial widths. Very LF hearing in Mysticeti appeared in the middle Miocene, and mysticete infrasonic hearing had evolved by the late Miocene. Complete cochlear coiling is suitable for estimating hearing limits in cetaceans, closely approximated by cochlear length times number of cochlear turns.

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