[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Large-sized Mammalian Coprolite containing Ground Sloth Osteoderms from the Upper Pleistocene Touro Passo Formation of Brazil

in Jacob, Diniz, Kerber, Dentzien-Dias et Francischini, 2024.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jsames.2023.104715  

Artwork: Júlia d'Oliveira twitter.com/tupandactylus

Abstract

Coprolites provide information about the presence, diet, and feeding behavior of the producer, besides the trophic relationships between extinct taxa and the regional paleoclimatic context where these organisms lived. Here, we present a paleobiological and paleoecological investigation of a Late Pleistocene carnivore coprolite found in southern Brazil (Touro Passo Formation, Rio Grande do Sul). Our analyses include morphological and morphometric approaches employing scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and CT-scanning. The analyzed coprolite is cylindrical, measuring 180 mm in length and 40 mm maximum in diameter, and contains a high proportion of phosphorus and calcium. Interestingly, it presents a large quantity of 102 osteoderms attributed to a Pleistocene ground sloth (Mylodontidae indet.). The size and contents of the coprolite suggest that it was produced by a large carnivorous animal comparable to representatives of Smilodon or another large carnivore mammal. The structure of the osteoderms resembles the morphological pattern found in Mylodontidae, but they are smaller than those described for adult individuals, suggesting that the coprolite producer possibly fed on a juvenile ground sloth. Palynological analysis was also performed, and the low pollen content indicates accidental consumption of plants or pollen, through the viscera of the prey or with the ingestion of water. These paleoenvironmental data suggest that the coprolite producer may have inhabited floodplain regions near river courses, where the coprolite was deposited. These results help to understand the ecological dynamics during the Late Pleistocene of South America.

Coprolite producer

The coprolite MCP-5176-PV was evidently produced by a carnivore, given its cylindrical morphology, whitish-gray color, and phosphatic composition. Moreover, the producer, which ingested (at least) the osteoderm-bearing portion of a giant sloth skin, was of a considerable size, based on its feces large dimensions.

Animals from the Late Pleistocene of South America that were big enough to produce the coprolite MCP-5176-PV include mammals (mainly canids, felids, and ursids) and crocodilians (e.g., ...

Conclusions: 

This study reveals new evidence on the food chain dynamics in the Late Pleistocene of southern Brazil. The coprolite described here was produced by a large carnivorous animal, probably a felid comparable in size to Smilodon populator, Panthera onca, and Puma concolor. This animal fed on a ground sloth, as revealed by the presence of more than 102 osteoderms in the coprolite. These ossicles are regarded as Mylodontidae osteoderms, but smaller than those associated with adult ground sloths, ...

Thândara Jacob, Débora Diniz, Leonardo Kerber, Paula Dentzien-Dias and Heitor Francischini. 2024. A Large-sized Mammalian Coprolite containing Ground Sloth Osteoderms from the Upper Pleistocene Touro Passo Formation of Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 133, 104715. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsames.2023.104715

 twitter.com/tupandactylus/status/1731726812797972855

[PaleoMammalogy • 2022] Spinal Fracture reveals An Accident Episode in Eremotherium laurillardi (Xenarthra, Megatheriidae) shedding light on the Formation of A Fossil Assemblage

 Eremotherium laurillardi  Lund, 1842

in de S. Barbosa, de Araújo-Júnior, ... et Oliveira, 2022. 

DOI 10.1038/s41598-022-08107-1

Artwork by Júlia d’Oliveira.  twitter.com/tupandactylus

Abstract

The Toca das Onças cave is one of the most important Quaternary mammal deposits of Brazil. Two different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the preservation mode of its skeletal remains: either the animals climbed down into the cave, or it could have functioned as a natural trap. Evaluation of pathological modifications on three articulated vertebrae of a single adult giant ground sloth Eremotherium laurillardi reveals a particular type of bone fracture caused by compressive force on the vertebral column, which split the vertebral bodies in the sagittal plane. This diagnosis suggests that the animal accidentally fell into the cave, in accordance with the second hypothesis proposed to the incorporation mode of skeletal remains into the cave.

Artistic reconstruction of the suggested fall of the individual Eremotherium laurillardi into the cave.

Artwork by Júlia d’Oliveira.

Eremotherium laurillardi Lund 1842

Fernando H. de S. Barbosa, Hermínio I. de Araújo-Júnior, Isadora da Costa, André Vieira de Araújo and Edison Vicente Oliveira. 2022. Spinal Fracture reveals An Accident Episode in Eremotherium laurillardi shedding light on the Formation of A Fossil Assemblage. Scientific Reports. 12: 4119. DOI 10.1038/s41598-022-08107-1

 twitter.com/tupandactylus/status/1501532787056250882

[Mammalogy • 2022] Genomic Basis for Skin Phenotype and Cold Adaptation in the Extinct Steller’s Sea Cow Hydrodamalis gigas

Steller’s Sea Cow | Hydrodamalis gigas Zimmermann, 1780
Sirenian distribution according to the IUCN Red List (2020)

in Le Duc, Velluva, Cassatt-Johnstone, ... et Schöneberg, 2022. 

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl6496

drawing by R. Ellis (1741)

Abstract

Steller’s sea cow, an extinct sirenian and one of the largest Quaternary mammals, was described by Georg Steller in 1741 and eradicated by humans within 27 years. Here, we complement Steller’s descriptions with paleogenomic data from 12 individuals. We identified convergent evolution between Steller’s sea cow and cetaceans but not extant sirenians, suggesting a role of several genes in adaptation to cold aquatic (or marine) environments. Among these are inactivations of lipoxygenase genes, which in humans and mouse models cause ichthyosis, a skin disease characterized by a thick, hyperkeratotic epidermis that recapitulates Steller’s sea cows’ reportedly bark-like skin. We also found that Steller’s sea cows’ abundance was continuously declining for tens of thousands of years before their description, implying that environmental changes also contributed to their extinction.

Molecular basis for Steller’s sea cow’s skin phenotype.
(A) Sirenian distribution according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List (2020). All sequenced Steller’s sea cow individuals originate from the Commander Islands.

(B) Translated multiple sequence alignment of the ALOXE3 and ALOX12B genes showing amino acid sequence conservation corresponding to the human proteins (bold in Steller’s sea cow) and the position of the premature stop codons.

(C) Arachidonate lipoxygenases structure, which is composed of the PLAT (Polycystin-1, Lipoxygenase, and Alpha-Toxin) domain and the enzymatic LIPOXYGENASE core domain. Premature stop codons in Steller’s sea cow ALOXE3 and ALOX12B genes are depicted in red. Truncating variants described in human patients and located downstream from the Steller’s sea cow premature stop codons are depicted in black.

(D) Left: Steller’s sea cow drawing according to Steller’s description from 1741 (image by R. Ellis). Right: Image of a patient with ichthyosis; detail depicts scaling and hyperkeratosis.

Sirenian distribution according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List (2020)

 

Hydrodamalis gigas Zimmermann, 1780

Diana Le Duc, Akhil Velluva, Molly Cassatt-Johnstone, ... et Torsten Schöneberg. 2022. Genomic Basis for Skin Phenotype and Cold Adaptation in the Extinct Steller’s Sea Cow. SCIENCE ADVANCES. 8, 5. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abl6496

Researchgate.net/publication/358361456_Genomic_basis_for_skin_phenotype_and_cold_adaptation_in_the_extinct_Steller's_sea_cow

[PaleoMammalogy • 2021] The Tale of A Short-tailed Cat: New Outstanding Late Pleistocene Fossils of Lynx pardinus from southern Italy

Lynx pardinus Temminck (1827)

in Mecozzi, Sardella, Boscaini, ... et Iurino, 2021.

DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106840 

 facebook.com/DawidAdamIurino 

Highlights: 

• We describe and analyze the Lynx sample from the Ingarano site (southern Italy).

• It is the largest and best preserved European sample of Late Pleistocene lynxes.

• The sample is referred to Lynx pardinus Temminck (1827).

• The new data allow to revise the taxonomy of European fossil lynxes.

• Compared to the extant form, the fossil L. pardinus was larger with a wider paleobiogeographical distribution.

Abstract

The pardel lynx Lynx pardinus is today restricted to small populations living in southern Iberian Peninsula. However, this endangered species was widely spread throughout Iberia until historical times and is currently the subject of intense conservation programs. Paleontological data suggest that its past geographical range was much wider, including also southern France and northern Italy. Here, we report exceptionally preserved fossil remains of L. pardinus from the Late Pleistocene (about 40′000 years) of Ingarano (Italy), which represent the largest sample of fossil lynx currently known in Europe. This new evidence allows (1) to revise the taxonomy of European fossil lynxes, (2) to extend far southeast the paleobiogeographical distribution of L. pardinus, and (3) to offer new insights on the evolutionary history (e.g., relationships with other extinct and extant lynx species) and paleobiology (e.g., intraspecific variation, body mass) of this iconic European felid.

Keywords: Europe, Pleistocene, Carnivora, Felidae, Lynx, Evolution, Taxonomy, Paleobiogeography, Paleoecology

Lynx pardinus Temminck (1827) 

 

 Beniamino Mecozzi, Raffaele Sardella, Alberto Boscaini, Marco Cherin, Loïc Costeur, Joan Madurell-Malapeira, Marco Pavia, Antonio Profico and Dawid A. Iurino. 2021. The Tale of A Short-tailed Cat: New Outstanding Late Pleistocene Fossils of Lynx pardinus from southern Italy. Quaternary Science Reviews. 106840, In Press. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106840

  facebook.com/DawidAdamIurino/posts/4076590055719230

[PaleoOrnithology • 2020] Cathartes emsliei • A New Fossil Vulture (Cathartidae: Cathartes) from Quaternary Asphalt and Cave Deposits in Cuba

Cathartes emsliei 

 Suárez & Olson, 2020

DOI: 10.25226/bboc.v140i3.2020.a6

 twitter.com/online_BOC 

 

Abstract

A new small fossil species of vulture from Quaternary asphalt and cave deposits in western Cuba is described herein. Some specimens of this taxon are the smallest known in the genus Cathartes, including the modern Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture C. burrovianus. The extinction of the Cuban megafauna, coupled with the loss of open habitats once dominated by grassland savannas, contributed to the population decline and final extinction of endemic vultures in Cuba during the Holocene.

Systematic paleontology

Class AVES Linnaeus

Order CATHARTIFORMES Coues

Family CATHARTIDAE Lafresnaye

Figure 3. Tarsometatarsi in two species of the genus Cathartes, 
in anterior (A–C, G–H) and posterior (D–F, I–J) views. 
Cathartes emsliei: paratype proximal right (A, D) WS 778, holotype proximal left (B, E) MNHNCu 75.4752, paratype distal left (G, I) MNHNCu 75.4751, paratype distal half of right (H, J) MNHNCu 75.4746 (images E, G and I are reversed to facilitate comparisons). 
C. burrovianus: right (C, F) USNM 622341.

 Scale = 1 cm (William Suárez)

Figure 4. Hypothetical reconstruction of Emslie's Vulture Cathartes emsliei 

Illustration: William Suárez

Genus Cathartes Illiger

The new species agrees with the genus Cathartes and differs from Coragyps by having tarsometatarsus with short and relatively wider shaft, more compressed anteroposteriorly, anterior metatarsal groove well extended distad, and trochleae shorter and flaring abruptly from shaft. It differs from Gymnogyps Lesson, 1842, which is known from the Cuban fossil record, and agrees with Cathartes, in characters described by Emslie (1988).

Cathartes emsliei sp. nov.

Emslie's Vulture; Aura de Emslie

  

‘Cathartes? sp.': Suárez (2000a: 120). ‘referable to Cathartes': Suárez (2001: 110).

‘a small species of vulture': Suárez (2004: 124).

‘Cathartes sp.': Suárez (2020: 14).

Diagnosis.—A small species of Cathartes differing from C. burrovianus by having coracoid with reduced glenoid facet, wider and deeper anterior intercondylar fossa of the tibiotarsus, and tarsometatarsus with base of throchlea II wider in posterior view.

Etymology.—Named for our esteemed colleague and friend, Dr Steven D. Emslie, University of North Carolina Wilmington, USA, in recognition of his contribution to the knowledge of New World vultures, including those from Cuba.

 

William Suárez and Storrs L. Olson. 2020. A New Fossil Vulture (Cathartidae: Cathartes) from Quaternary Asphalt and Cave Deposits in Cuba. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club. 140(3); 335-343. DOI: 10.25226/bboc.v140i3.2020.a6

 twitter.com/online_BOC/status/1309777557190049792

[PaleoMammalogy • 2020] Proclinodontomys dondasi • A New Echimyid Genus (Rodentia, Caviomorpha) in Central Argentina: Uncovered Diversity of A Brazilian Group of Mammals in the Pleistocene

Proclinodontomys dondasi 

Candela, Cenizo, Tassara, Rasia, Robinet, Muñoz, Valenzuela & Pardiñas, 2020

DOI: 10.1017/jpa.2019.73 

 CTyS.com.ar  facebook.com/FundacionAZARA

Abstract

We describe a new extinct spiny rat, Proclinodontomys dondasi n. gen. n. sp. (Rodentia, Caviomorpha, Echimyidae), represented by a noteworthy preserved skull and mandible from the early-middle Pleistocene outcrops at the coastal cliffs of SE Buenos Aires Province (Central Argentina). Phylogenetic analyses allow us to propose that the new species described here and the already known Eurzygomatomys mordax (Winge) represent a new genus closely related to the living Euryzygomatomys spinosus and Clyomys laticeps. The new genus differs from Euryzygomatomys and Clyomys by having much more procumbent upper incisors, a more developed fossa for the M. temporalis, more flared and laterally expanded zygomatic arches, frontal less markedly expanded posteriorly, jugals much deeper anteriorly than posteriorly, with the dorsal border descending more abruptly posteriorly, smaller orbital cavity, and external auditory meatus relatively smaller and slanted upward and backward. Several features of the new species reflect a higher degree of adaptation to semifossorial habits than those of E. spinosus. The origin of the semifossorial ecomorphotype within echimyids may have been triggered by the expansion of relatively open and arid environments that arose near the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. The record of this new echimyid in Central Argentina indicates that during the early-middle Pleistocene, the southern limit of the geographic range of extinct representatives of the Brazilian lineage of semifossorial echimyids extended farther south than that of their living members.

Skulls of Echimyidae.
 (1–3) Proclinodontomys dondasi n. gen. n. sp. (MPH-P 0173, holotype) in dorsal (1), ventral (2), and lateral (3) views;
(4–6) P. mordax n. comb. (ZMUC 1/1845:13368) in dorsal (4), ventral (5), and lateral (6) views;
(7–9) E. spinosus (MACN 18103) in dorsal (7), ventral (8), and lateral (9) views.

Abbreviations: bs, basisphenoid; eam, external acoustic meatus; fm, foramen magnum; fr, frontal; I, incisive; if, incisive foramen; iof, infraorbital foramen; ipf, interpremaxillar foramen; ju, jugal; lps, lateral process of supraoccipital; M1, first molar; M2, second molar; M3, third molar; mx, maxilla; na, nasal; oc, occipital; pa, parietal; P4, fourth premolar; pl, palatine; pmx, premaxilla; sq, squamosal; tb, tympanic bulla. Scale bars = 10 mm.

Mandibles of Echimyidae. Left hemimandible of Proclinodontomys dondasi n. gen. n. sp. (MPH-P 0174) in lateral (1) and occlusal (2) views; right hemimandible (reversed) of E. spinosus (MACN 18103) in lateral (3) and occlusal (4) views.

Abbreviations: cp, coronoid process; mc, masseteric crest; m1, first molar; m2, second molar; m3, third molar; mn, masseteric notch; p4, fourth premolar. Scale bars = 10 mm.

Family Echimyidae Gray, 1825 

Subfamily Eumysopinae Rusconi, 1935 

Genus Proclinodontomys new genus 

Type species.—Proclinodontomys dondasi n. gen. n. sp. 

Other species.—Proclinodontomys mordax n. comb. (Winge, 1887).

Etymology.—From Greek pro = anterior, clino = inclination, odonto = tooth, mys = mouse; in reference to the fact that is a rodent with the front teeth inclined forward.

Proclinodontomys dondasi new species

Etymology.—The species name honors Alejandro Dondas (1948–2016), colleague and friend, tireless finder of fossils at the Atlantic cliffs of Buenos Aires Province and for many years head of the Paleontology Department of the Museo Municipal de Ciencias Naturales de Mar del Plata “Lorenzo Scaglia.” The specific epithet is formed from the surname “Dondas,” taken as a noun in the genitive case, plus the Latin suffix “i” (ICZN, 1999; Article 31.1.2).

Proclinodontomys mordax (Winge, 1887) new combination 

1887 Mesomys mordax Winge, p. 72, pl. 8, fig. 7. 

1946 Euryzygomatomys mordax (Winge); Paula-Couto, p. 5.

Adriana M. Candela, Marcos Cenizo, Daniel Tassara, Luciano L. Rasia, Céline Robinet, Nahuel A. Muñoz, Carola Cañón Valenzuela and Ulyses F. J. Pardiñas. 2020. A New Echimyid Genus (Rodentia, Caviomorpha) in Central Argentina: Uncovered Diversity of A Brazilian Group of Mammals in the Pleistocene. Journal of Paleontology. 94(1); 165–179. DOI: 10.1017/jpa.2019.73  

Researchgate.net/publication/336105838_A_new_echimyid_genus_in_Central_Argentina

Hallaron una rata espinosa fósil de más de 400 mil años de antigüedad CTyS.com.ar/index.php?idPage=20&idArticulo=3907

facebook.com/FundacionAZARA/posts/2607752219261840

    

[PaleoOrnithology • 2018] Vorombe gen. nov. • Unexpected Diversity within the Extinct Elephant Birds (Aves: Aepyornithidae) and A New Identity for the World's Largest Bird

Vorombe titan  (Andrews, 1894)

in Hansford & Turvey, 2018 
DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181295  

Illustration: Jaime Chirinos   twitter.com/JamesHansford5

Abstract

Madagascar's now-extinct radiation of large-bodied ratites, the elephant birds (Aepyornithidae), has been subject to little modern research compared to the island's mammalian megafauna and other Late Quaternary giant birds. The family's convoluted and conflicting taxonomic history has hindered accurate interpretation of morphological diversity and has restricted modern research into their evolutionary history, biogeography and ecology. We present a new quantitative analysis of patterns of morphological diversity of aepyornithid skeletal elements, including material from all major global collections of aepyornithid skeletal remains, and constituting the first taxonomic reassessment of the family for over 50 years. Linear morphometric data collected from appendicular limb elements, and including nearly all type specimens, were examined using multivariate cluster analysis and the Bayesian information criterion, and with estimation of missing data using multiple imputation and expectation maximization algorithms. These analyses recover three distinct skeletal morphotypes within the Aepyornithidae. Two of these morphotypes are associated with the type specimens of the existing genera Mullerornis and Aepyornis, and represent small-bodied and medium-bodied aepyornithids, respectively. Aepyornis contains two distinct morphometric subgroups, which are identified as the largely allopatric species A. hildebrandti and A. maximus. The third morphotype, which has not previously been recognized as a distinct genus, is described as the novel taxon Vorombe titan. Vorombe represents the largest-bodied aepyornithid and is the world's largest bird, with a mean body mass of almost 650 kg. This new taxonomic framework for the Aepyornithidae provides an important new baseline for future studies of avian evolution and the Quaternary ecology of Madagascar.

 Systematic Palaeontology

Order Struthioniformes Latham, 1790 

Family Aepyornithidae Bonaparte, 1853 

Genus Aepyornis Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1851 

Aepiornis Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1851, p. 52 

Epiornis Muller and Baldamus, 1851, p. 48 

Epyornis Bonaparte, 1853, p. 139 

Type species: Aepyornis maximus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1851 (by monotypy).

Recognized species: Aepyornis maximus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1851; Aepyornis hildebrandti Burckhardt, 1893

.....

Genus Mullerornis Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, 1894

Flacourtia Andrews, 1895, p 23 

Type species: Mullerornis betsilei Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, 1894; designated by Richmond.

Recognized species: Mullerornis modestus (Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, 1869)

 Vorombe titan (Andrews, 1894)

Illustration: Jaime Chirinos 

Genus Vorombe gen. nov.

Etymology: From the Malagasy for ‘big bird’ (neuter).

Type species: Aepyornis titan Andrews, 1894

 Vorombe titan (Andrews, 1894)

Aepyornis titan Andrews 1894, p. 18 

Aepyornis ingens Milne-Edwards and Grandidier, 1894, p. 124

Figure 7.  Vorombe titan , femur (NHMUK A439), Itampolo (Itampulu Vé), Madagascar; part of syntype series.

   

James P. Hansford and Samuel T. Turvey. 2018. Unexpected Diversity within the Extinct Elephant Birds (Aves: Aepyornithidae) and A New Identity for the World's Largest Bird. Royal Society Open Science. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181295

After decades of conflicting evidence, scientists at @ZSLScience have put the ‘world’s largest bird’ debate to rest. The extinct Vorombe titan has taken the title at over 3 metres tall and weighing up to 800kg:   zsl.org/science/news/zsl-names-world’s-largest-ever-bird-–-vorombe-titan … #elephantbirds #birds  

twitter.com/JamesHansford5/status/1044870794063618049

Team names world's largest ever bird—Vorombe titan  phys.org/news/2018-09-team-world-largest-birdvorombe-titan.html via @physorg_com

[Herpetology • 2016] Glaciations, Gradients, and Geography: Multiple Drivers of Diversification of Bush Frogs in the Western Ghats Escarpment

Figure 2. Geographical ancestral range reconstruction on a chronogram of Western Ghats bush frogs Raorchestes shows two sister clades, North and South, divided by an ancient barrier, the Palghat Gap (PG), with limited dispersal (see map). The range on the map does not incorporate dispersal across the PG and an isolated lineage from one of the eastern massifs. Inset map shows global geographical extent of the lineages used in the reconstruction. 

Abstract

The historical processes underlying high diversity in tropical biodiversity hotspots like the Western Ghats of Peninsular India remain poorly understood. We sampled bush frogs on 13 massifs across the Western Ghats Escarpment and examined the relative influence of Quaternary glaciations, ecological gradients and geological processes on the spatial patterns of lineage and clade diversification. The results reveal a large in situ radiation (more than 60 lineages), exhibiting geographical structure and clade-level endemism, with two deeply divergent sister clades, North and South, highlighting the biogeographic significance of an ancient valley, the Palghat Gap. A majority of the bush frog sister lineages were isolated on adjacent massifs, and signatures of range stasis provide support for the dominance of geological processes in allopatric speciation. In situ diversification events within the montane zones (more than 1800 m) of the two highest massifs suggest a role for climate-mediated forest-grassland persistence. Independent transitions along elevational gradients among sub-clades during the Miocene point to diversification along the elevational gradient. The study highlights the evolutionary significance of massifs in the Western Ghats with the high elevations acting as centres of lineage diversification and the low- and mid-elevations of the southern regions, with deeply divergent lineages, serving as museums.

KEYWORDS: diversification; bush frogs; Western Ghats; Earth processes

Figure 1. Alternative processes driving diversification in a mountain setting and expected patterns of sister-lineage distributions (summarized in the electronic supplementary material, table S1). 

S. P. Vijayakumar, Riya C. Menezes, Aditi Jayarajan and Kartik Shanker. 2016. Glaciations, Gradients, and Geography: Multiple Drivers of Diversification of Bush Frogs in the Western Ghats Escarpment. Proc. R. Soc. B 283: 20161011.  DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1011

An evolutionary museum of bush frogs - Nature India DOI: 10.1038/nindia.2016.105

[PaleoMammalogy • 2016] Lutraeximia umbra • A New Otter from the Early Pleistocene of Pantalla (Italy), with remarks on the Evolutionary History of Mediterranean Quaternary Lutrinae (Carnivora, Mustelidae)

Lutraeximia umbra

Cherin, Iurino, Willemsen & Carnevale, 2016

Artwork by D.A. Iurino. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.01.008 

Highlights

• We describe the cranium of a Lutrinae from central Italy (late Villafranchian).

• It is the first otter cranium in the Early Pleistocene of the Mediterranean area.

• We refer the specimen to Lutraeximia umbra, gen. et sp. nov.

• Phylogenetic analysis allows recognizing a clade of Quaternary Mediterranean otters.

• This evidences the past large diversity of Lutrinae in the Mediterranean.

Abstract

Here we describe a well-preserved sub-complete lutrine cranium from the late Villafranchian (Early Pleistocene) of Pantalla (Italy) and we assign it to the new taxon Lutraeximia umbra, gen. et sp. nov. The new genus Lutraeximia is characterized by a relatively short and large cranium, with a peculiar shape of the postorbital area and a short and vertical muzzle in lateral view. We refer to the same genus the partially complete skeleton of Lutra trinacriae from the Middle-Late Pleistocene of Sicily. Lutraeximia umbra was a medium-large otter (predicted body mass larger than 13.5 kg) with a unique combination of characters in the upper dentition.

A phylogenetic analysis based on craniodental characters places Lutraeximia umbra in a monophyletic clade including the living Lutrogale perspicillata plus the extinct Lutrogale cretensis and three Pleistocene otters from Italy: Sardolutra ichnusae and the sister taxa Lutraeximia trinacriae and Lutraeximia umbra. The recognition of this clade evidences the broad diversity of peri-Mediterranean Lutrinae during the Pleistocene.

Keywords: Lutraeximia; Lutrinae; Otter; Phylogeny; Pantalla; Villafranchian

Fig. 10. Sequential reconstruction of the head of Lutraeximia umbra, gen. et sp. nov., from Pantalla (Italy).
From top to bottom: 3D retrodeformed model of the cranium SBAU 337654, reconstructed head and cranium overlapped, life appearance.

Artwork by D.A. Iurino. DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.01.008  

Systematic paleontology

Class: Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758

Order: Carnivora Bowdich, 1821

Family: Mustelidae Fischer, 1817

Subfamily: Lutrinae Bonaparte, 1838

Lutraeximia gen. nov.

Type species: Lutraeximia umbra, sp. nov.

Etymology: From the Latin words lutra, otter and eximia, distinct, outstanding.

Included species: Lutraeximia umbra, sp. nov.; Lutraeximia trinacriae ( Burgio and Fiore, 1988) (=Nesolutra trinacriae Burgio and Fiore, 1988; Lutra trinacriae Willemsen, 1992).

Diagnosis: Lutrinae with cranium relatively short and large; postorbital constriction slightly shorter than its wider section and with a small narrowing in the caudal end; muzzle short and with a nearly vertical rostral margin in lateral view; M1 relatively smaller than P4.

Lutraeximia umbra sp. nov.

Holotype: SBAU 337654, a sub-complete dorsoventrally compressed cranium missing the mastoid and jugular processes, both P3, left P1 and left I3. The rostral part of the frontals and nasals are ventrally crushed, with the latter collapsing into the nasal cavities. The cranium pertains to an adult individual.

Etymology: Umbria is the region of central Italy where the type specimen was found.

Type locality, horizon and age: The holotype is from the locality of Pantalla, about 30 km S to Perugia (Italy; 42°52′46.79″N, 12°24′23.26″E; Fig. 2). The mammal assemblage of this locality was recovered from a 15 m-thick stratigraphic succession referred to the Early Pleistocene Santa Maria di Ciciliano Unit (Gentili et al., 1997). Fossils were found in two different levels in the middle-upper portion of the succession: fluvial silty sands below, interpreted as crevasse-splay deposits; silty clays above, interpreted as a drained paleosol (Gentili et al., 1997). SBAU 337654 comes from the former level. Besides the Lutrinae described here, the mammal assemblage includes Apodemus cf. A. dominans, Canis etruscus, Vulpes sp., Lynx issiodorensis valdarnensis, Acinonyx pardinensis, Sus strozzii, Pseudodama nestii, Leptobos aff. L. furtivus, Equus sp., and Mammuthus cf. M. meridionalis ( Gentili et al., 1997 and Cherin et al., 2014). From a biochronological point of view, the assemblage can be referred to the Olivola/Tasso Faunal Units (Gentili et al., 1997), in a time interval ranging approximately between 1.9 and 1.7 Ma (Rook and Martínez-Navarro, 2010).

Marco Cherin, Dawid Adam Iurino, Gerard Willemsen and Giorgio Carnevale. 2016.  A New Otter from the Early Pleistocene of Pantalla (Italy), with remarks on the Evolutionary History of Mediterranean Quaternary Lutrinae (Carnivora, Mustelidae). Quaternary Science Reviews. 135; 92–102.  DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.01.008

academia.edu/21499074/A_new_otter_from_the_Early_Pleistocene_of_Pantalla_Italy_with_remarks_on_the_evolutionary_history_of_Mediterranean_Quaternary_Lutrinae_Carnivora_Mustelidae

Todi, trovato cranio completo di lontra preistorica: «Nuova specie tutta umbra» https://shar.es/14qs7N  

[PaleoOrnithology • 2016] Is the “Genyornis” Egg of A Mihirung or Another Extinct Bird from the Australian Dreamtime?

Fig. 1. A, Comparison of SAM P.42421, the ‘Spooner Egg’, left, attributed to Genyornis newtoni, and an emu egg (Dromaius novaehollandiae) SAM B.9899. B, Comparison of femora of Genyornis newtoni SAM P13864 and a 22 cm long Dromaius novaehollandiae femur (FUR 058). C, The Spooner Egg as partly excavated revealing its intact nature; photograph by Gifford Miller, INSTAAR, Colorado. D, The Spooner Egg in situ as found by NS on 23rd July 2000, photograph by Gifford Miller using a reflex camera, and is the best image taken of the egg prior to excavation.

Scale bars in A and B = 10 cm. DOI:  10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.12.011  

Highlights

• Eggshell previously identified as from Genyornis newtoni is reassessed.

• Egg size and microstructure is not conducive with an identity as an dromornithid.

• We suggest that this eggshell is from one of the extinct megapodes in Progura.

• Previous assessments of the timing of Genyornis extinction relate to Progura species.

Abstract

The iconic Australian Genyornis newtoni (Dromornithidae, Aves) is the sole Pleistocene member of an avian clade now hypothesized to be alternatively in Anseriformes or the sister group of crown Galloanseres. A distinctive type of fossil eggshell commonly found in eroding sand dunes, has been referred to Genyornis newtoni since the 1980s. The 126 by 97 mm Spooner Egg, dated at 54.7 ± 3.1 ka by optical dating of its enclosing sediments, is a complete specimen of this eggshell type that was reconstructed from fragments of a broken egg. We show that the size of the eggs from which this ‘Genyornis’ eggshell derives, either as predicted from measurements of fragments, or as indicated by the Spooner Egg, is unexpectedly small given the size of G. newtoni, which has an estimated mass of 275 kg, or about seven times the mass of the emu that has a similar sized egg. We compared the microstructure of the putative Genyornis eggshell to that of other dromornithids and a range of galloanseriform taxa using several microcharacterisation techniques. The ‘Genyornis’ eggshell displays a mosaic of oological characters that do not unambiguously support referral to any known modern bird. Its shell structure, coupled with chemical compounds in the accessory layer, makes it unlikely to have been laid by a dromornithid, whereas several characters support a megapode origin. A potential candidate for the bird that laid the putative ‘Genyornis’ eggs in the Pleistocene fossil avifaunal record has been ignored: Progura, a genus of extinct giant megapodes, whose species were widespread in Australia. Regression of egg size of megapodes and body mass shows that the Spooner Egg approximates the expected size for eggs laid by species of Progura. We advance the suggestion that the fossil eggshell hitherto referred to Genyornis newtoni, is more likely to have been laid by species of the giant extinct Progura. As megapodes, the species of Progura were obligate ectothermic incubators, which we suggest laid their eggs into a hole dug in sand like the modern megapode Macrocephalon maleo, thus explaining the abundant ‘Genyornis’ eggshell in sand dunes. Referral of this eggshell to Progura means that the fossil record of Genyornis newtoni is limited to bones and the timing of the extinction of this last dromornithid is unknown. In addition, structural similarities of eggshell in megapodes, the putative Genyornis eggshell and dromornithids, raise the possibility that these taxa are phylogenetically more closely related to each other than any is to anseriforms. Specifically, this means that dromornithids might be a sister group to galliforms rather than to or within anseriforms.

Keywords: Eggs; Eggshells; Paleoenvironments; Genyornis newtoni; Dromornithids; Megapodes; Progura; Micro-CT; EBSD; Quaternary; Australia

Conclusions

We have described in detail the structure of putative Genyornis eggshell and raised several obstacles to the hypothesis first advanced by Williams (1981) and accepted thereafter ( Miller et al., 1999 and Miller et al., 2005), that this ootype was laid by the giant dromornithid G. newtoni. Rather, we think it more likely that it was laid by one of the several species of giant megapodes in the genus Progura that were widespread in the Pleistocene in Australia.

Gerald Grellet-Tinner, Nigel A. Spooner and Trevor H. Worthy. 2016. Is the “Genyornis” Egg of A Mihirung or Another Extinct Bird from the Australian Dreamtime? QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS. 133:147-164   DOI:  10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.12.011

ResearchGate.net/publication/289500812_Is_the_Genyornis_egg_of_a_mihirung_or_another_extinct_bird_from_the_Australian_dreamtime