The revision of the Rhombodontidae from the Maastrichtian of Morocco led us to the description of a new species: Rhombodus andriesi.

The biometrical study of populations of R. binkhorsti and R. microdon, species sometimes considered as synonymous, supports the conclusion that they represent two distinct species and not young and adult specimens of a single species. The stratigraphical range of these two species confirms this
result.

The reexarnination of type-series studied by C. Ararnbourg led us to revise the generic status of Rhombodus bondoni which is now ranged, because his dental features, in the new genus Dasyrhombodus showing a less derived dentition than Rhombodus. The stratigraphical range of each species is clarified within the phosphatic series. 

    Two families are reviewed (Hyracodontidae and Rhinocerotidae) from the Paleogene of Mongolia. The following taxa are described from the former family:  Triplopus? mergenensis sp. nov., Prohyracodon meridionale CHOW, Prohyracodon? parvus sp. nov., Forstercooperia ergiliinensis GABUNIA & DASHZEVEG, Ardynia praecox MATTHEW & GRANGER, A. mongoliensis (BELIAYEVA), Ardynia sp., Urtinotheríum sp. (or Indricotherium) and Armania asiana GABUNIA & DASHZEVEG. All of them are from the Paleogene of the eastem Gobi Desert The hyracodontid Pataecops parvus RADINSKY is described from a new locality, Menkhen-Teg (Middle Eocene), in the Valley of Lakes.
    In the second family, a new species of Ronzotherium, R. orientale sp. nov. has been recognized from the Oligocene of Ergilin Dzo and Khoer Dzan of the eastem Gobi Desert. Ronzotherium sp. and Allacerops sp. have been described from the Oligocene of Khoer Dzan. The genus Ronzotherium, formerly known from the Oligocene of eastem Europe, has been reliably established in the Oligocene fauna of Mongolia. The genus Symphysorrachis BELIAYEVA, 1954, previously believed to be a junior synonym of Ronzotherium, is here resurrected.
    Descriptions are provided for key localities in the Eocene and Oligocene of Mongolia and the adjacent territories of northern China, containing fossil Hyracodontidae and Rhinocerotidae. In addition, the question of the Eocene-Oligocene boundary in these Mongolian and Chinese sections is discussed. Paleontological evidence has been used to correlate Eocene-Oligocene boundary layers in the eastem Gobi Desert (Mongolia) and Inner Mongolia (China). A brief discussion is provided on the phylogenetic affinities of the genera within the family Hyracodontidae. 

The Condylarths from Hainin (Hainault, Belgium) show no affinity at the generic level to those known in other Paleocene localities of Europe and North America ; they are described as new forms : Monshyus praevius n. gen., n. sp. and Prolatidens waudruae n. gen., n. sp. Monshyus praevius, discovered in only one of the levels in the excavation at Hainin, is similar to the genera Microhyus TEILHARD and Louisina RUSSELL ; with them it is included in the subfamily Louisininae (Hyopsodontidae). With respect to Microhyus and Louisina, Monshyus is distinguished by the precociously modern aspect of its upper molars, the only teeth that are referable. Prolatidens waudruae, known only by lower molars, was found in several levels in the pit at Hainin. It is an arctocyonid presenting possible relationships to the North American form Oxyprimus galadrielae ; it therefore has been provisionally attributed to the subfamily Oxyclaeninae. If this attribution is confirmed, this species will constitute the first and only representative of the group in Europe. 

The scientific career of D.E. Russell began with a Pliocene fauna from Oregon, and then turned in the direction of European Paleogene mammals. Field work followed by study of the mammals that were collected, firstly in the Paleocene and later in the early Eocene, greatly rejuvenated learning in this field. Syntheses on the Northwest European Tertiary basin and on European marnmals and stratigraphy came next. Research on the Eocene of Asia was carried out jointly with Gingerich on Pakistan and with Dashzeveg on the faunas of Mongolia. An important synthesis on the entire Paleogene of Asia, joint with Zhai, followed. Field work in Africa with Sigogneau-Russell led to the discovery of Mesozoic mammals there. A synthesis of mammalian paleofaunas of the world was written with Savage, and a similar synthesis of Cenozoic vertebrate faunas is currently being prepared. These achievements reflect the perennial importance of field work, numerous collaborations with both amateurs and professionals, and the human qualities of this author.
  

Bats are among the most numerous and widespread mammals today, but their fossil record is comparatively meagre and their early evolution poorly understood. Here we describe a new fossil bat from dental remains recovered from late Early Eocene sediments at Prémontré, northern France. This 50 million-year-old bat exhibits a mosaic of plesiomorphic and apomorphic dental features, including the presence of three lower premolars, a single-rooted p3, short p4 with metaconid, myotodont lower molars and a tall coronoid process of the dentary. This combination of features suggests it is an early member of Vespertilionidae, today’s most speciose and geographically widespread bat family. The Prémontré bat has bearing on hypotheses about the origins of vesper or evening bats (Family Vespertilionidae), as well as crown-group chiropterans.


  

La localité fossilifère du Puech de Montredon, désignée plus communément sous le nom de Montredon, est située sur la commune de Montouliers (Hérault) à quelques 300 mètres de la limite avec le département de l'Aude. Elle a été découverte en 1845 par Narbonne, Directeur des Mines de La Caunette, et de très nombreux restes de vertébrés continentaux y ont été extraits. La plus ancienne mention de ce gisement dans la littérature semble être celle de Lartet (1859) qui signale que "M. Jourdan, de Lyon, a constaté à Montredon, près de Bize (Aude), l'association des restes de Dinotherium avec l'Hipparion". 

The comparative morphology and biometry of the lower cheek teeth of modern Equus are studied on approximately 300 mandibles belonging to the 10 usually recognised species : Equus grevyi, E. burchelli, E. quagga, E. zebra, E. africanus, E. asinus, E. hemionus, E. klang, E. przewalskii, E. caballus. The studied parameters comprise : occlusal length and width, postflexid length and index ; shape of the double knot (metaconid + metastylid + lingual groove) ; depth of the vestibular groove on the molars ; frequency of the pli caballinid, protostylid and other enamel plications or islets ; frequency of the dP/l.
The same methods of study are applied to a number of North American, Eurasian and African species. For the sake of comparison, some Hemphillian equids were observed (Dinohippus interpolatus, Dinohippus leidyanus, Astrohippus ansae, Phiohippus mexicanus) but most of the discussed material belongs to Pliocene or Pleistocene species of Equus : the « stenonine ›› E. stenonis, E. simplicidens, E. sanmeniensis and E. teilhardi; the « caballine ›› E. scotti, E. lambei, E. Iaurentius, E. mosbachensis, E. germanicus, E. gallicus, E. taubachensis and the Liakhov horse. The relationships of other species, in particular the North American E. calobatus, E. occidentalis, E. cf mexicanus are not clear for the moment. ln Africa, the Plio-Pleistocene species from Koobi Fora (Kenya) show some stenonine and perhaps asinine affinities. The relationships of E. numidicus and E. tabeti are uncertain but these species are probably related to the East African ones. E. mauritanicus is most certainly related to the Quagga group.
The biometrical data are gathered in 32 tables ; 4 photographie plates and 19 figures illustrate the next. The whole is a complement of the previously published studies of the skulls, upper cheek teeth, incisors and metapodials of modern and fossil Equus.

  

The study of that locality allowed the description of a new Muridae : Paraethomys athmeniae n. sp. It reveals the existence of new rodent for Algeria : first, a Sciuridae, Atlantoxerus cf. rhodius, and second, a Gliridae, Eliomys truci. So, that work shows the presence of the genus Eliomys in North Africa before the middle of Pleistocene. Lastly, Paraethomys cf. anomalus gives an exact datation of that bed. 

Abstract not available 

The Zanclian marls from Papiol provided otoliths belonging to 53 teleost taxa; nine of those are new for the Mediterranean Pliocene. The association reflects a bathymetry between 150 and 350 m, but it is likely that such depths only existed at the initial stage of flooding of the Llobregat bay. A compilation of the available data for the whole Mediterranean realm at Zanclian time provided a list of 163 taxa, of which 105 could be identified at species level. This last group provides the most useful data for evaluating the composition and affinities of the Mediterranean Zanclian fauna, which appears to be significantly different from the Recent Mediterranean fauna. The Zanclian fauna counts 68 % of Recent species: 12,5 % were already represented in the Mediterranean Miocene, 37 % appeared there at the Zanclian, and 18 % are extra-Mediterranean today. This last group is essentially composed by oceanic fishes, living in the warm parts of the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans. It is evident that a non neglectable number of Recent species only penetrated very recently in the Mediterranean, which stresses the differences between the more oceanic Zanclian Mediterranean fauna and the present one.


  

Rodents from the new localities of Châteauredon (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) and La Denise (Bouches-du-Rhône) show more similarities with the rodents known from the Czecho-Slovak locality of Franzenbad than with the species found in contemporaneous Lower Miocene faunas located westward of the present Rhône Valley. This is another data wich support the existance of several biogeographical provinces in Southern France during Lower Miocene. The correlations which have been settled down allow new datations of several formations in Provence and give new information on the Aquitanian and Burdigalian paleogeographies of this region. More precise stratigraphical allocations are given to some other localities of Central Europe. 

A well-preserved anterior cranium of Paranourosorex gigas RZEBIK-KOWALSKA, 1975 from Podlesice, Poland, provides additional knowledge of this rare shrew, including almost complete maxillary dentition. The systematic status of this species as a relative of recent Anourosorex MILNE-
EDWARDS, 1870 is confirmed 

Les Carnivores Fissipèdes de Sainte-Néboule appartiennent tous au genre Cynodictis et semblent constituer une population homogène. Celle-ci se distingue suffisamment des espèces déjà décrites pour constituer un taxon particulier : Cynodictis lacustris neboulensis n. s. sp. . L'étude des variations à l'intérieur de cette population nous a conduit à reconsidérer les critères utilisés pour définir les espèces existantes et à regrouper certaines d'entre elles. Il semble qu'il demeure cependant trois lignées distinctes dans le genre Cynodictis mais le matériel nous paraît encore insuffisant pour traduire cette remarque en termes de systématique. 

Numerous “Quaternary” large-mammal fossils have been collected since the 1830s along the Le Riège stream, near Pézenas (Southern France). More than 120 specimens are stored in the collections of the Université de Montpellier (UM) under the name “Le Riège”. A major operation aiming at relocating the palaeontological collections of the University has made it possible to group together all the specimens of interest and launch their systematic revision for the first time. The fossils belong to the Reboul (1839; 51 samples) and de Christol (1865; 18 samples) Collections and 17 samples compose the Crochet & Ivorra Collection (1998). The remaining 38 samples have no mention about the exact time and location of their finding. We provide a critical inventory with literal transcription of inscriptions on specimens and historical labels. This revision confirms the presence of two distinct faunal assemblages under the name of “Le Riège”: Saint-Palais (Early Pliocene, MN14–15) and Le Riège sensu stricto (late Early Pleistocene, most likely MNQ19). The former assemblage, with coastal affinities, is composed of the ruminants Alephis sp. and Procapreolus cf. pyrenaicus, the rhinocerotid Pliorhinus megarhinus, the gomphotheriid Anancus arvernensis and marine mammals, all emblematic taxa for the Early Pliocene of Montpellier and Perpignan. The latter assemblage documents a late Early Pleistocene fluvio-volcanic sequence, yielding the bovid Bison (Eobison) spp., the cervid Eucladoceros cf. giulii, the hippopotamid Hippopotamus antiquus, the rhinocerotid Stephanorhinus etruscus, the equid Equus cf. altidens, and the elephantid Mammuthus cf. meridionalis, plus a few specimens of uncertain taxonomic affinities. This revision underscores the interest of revisiting historical collections and further provides a starting point for future research.
  

Pangolins have never shown a high taxic diversity and their fossil record is scarce. We report here the first discovery of a partial humerus from late Oligocene deposits in Pech du Fraysse (MP28, France). The new specimen from Pech du Fraysse is described and compared to various extant and extinct species of pangolins. It shows a suite of morphological features very similar to the humeri discovered in Saint-André (MP 26), Solnhofen (Burdigalien), and Saulcet (Aquitanian), attributed here to Necromanis franconica. The description of the specimen from Pech du Fraysse allowed us to discuss the systematics of Paleogene and Neogene pholidotans. The differences between PFY 4051 and N. franconica on the one side, and N. quercyi on the other side, might be sufficiently important to justify a generic distinction. A comparison with extant species showed that N. franconica was likely terrestrial and fossorial based on its humeral morphology. 

Amongst a collection of selachian teeth made at Hoegaarden in a marine level of Bruxellian (Lutetian) age, containing a reworked Landenian (Sparnacian) fauna mixed with a contemporaneous one, a few teeth of  terrestrial mammals have been discovered. They comprise two rare European taxa: ? Hallensia sp. and Palaeonictis gigantea, both known from the Landenian. Even though the ?Hallensia has not been definitely identified, il differs from the only perissodactyl of this age previously recorded from Belgium (Cymbalophus cuniculus). 

The recently discovered, very rich, Pliocene locality of Layna (Soria, Spain), has already yielded 30 species of mammals. Hipparion fissurae, described here is more dolichopodic than other Hipparion. It is related to Hipparion crusafonti from Villaroya (Villafranchian), but more slender between other characters.
  

Voici une centaine d'années débutait sur les Causses du Quercy l'exploitation des phosphorites qui devait permettre d'amasser des collections de Vertébrés fossiles uniques au monde. Ces fossiles firent l'objet de nombreuses publications et les noms de Filhol, Gaudry, Schlosser, Stehlin, Teilhard de Chardin sont attachés à ces premières études.

Après quelques années de prospection, les fouilles dans le Quercy ont repris en 1965, organisées par les laboratoires montpelliérains et parisiens. Ces premières recherches ont été aidées par le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique qui a organisé une « table ronde» pour faire le point des premiers résultats obtenus. Ceux-ci ont été jugés suffisamment prometteurs pour que le C.N.R.S, ait décidé de poursuivre son effort par l'intermédiaire d'une Recherche Coopérative sur Programme.



  

The discovery in the Turolian (Late Miocene) of Dytiko 3 (Macedonia, Greece) of a complete skull with mandibles and cervical vertebrae, atlas and epistropheus, is a very important contribution to the knowledge of the subfarnily Chalicotheríinae. After the description, the comparison with other specimens of Miocene chalicotheres permits the revival of the generic name Macrotherium with a new species M. macedonicum. This genus is mainly characterized by a short snout and an inflated cerebral skull. It coexists during the Miocene with Chalicotherium. A cladistic analysis leads to conclusion that the species which has been described from the Early Middle Miocene of Rusinga must be identified as the type-species of a new genus: Butleria.





  

A strong lophodonty, an extreme heterodonty, some hypsodonty and regular overlayings of coronal cement are prominent features of the genus Leptolophus (Palaeotheriinae = Palaeotheriidae s.s.). The histological pattern of the teeth unusually joins type II enamel prisms, characteristic of advanced ungulates, together with archaic features, such as an almost complete lack of Hunter-Schreger zonation and a weak expanse of peritubular dentine. The skull is narrow and slender, with an elongated ante-orbital facial region, a moderately notched nasal aperture, a rather elongated post-canine diastem, parallel zygornatic arches and a fairly dorsally located squamoso-mandibular joint.The functional analysis brings to light "ectolophodont" masticatory cycles with two phases, in which maximum power was applied, contrary to equíds, on hindmost teeth; likewise, skull accomodations to increasing height of the teeth are quite different. This study leads to the assumption that Leptolophus may have been light mammals, living in rather open surroundings, browsing on herbaceous plants or leaves cropped close to the ground. Moreover, it appears that it could have been some inadequacy of dental structures to the dietary, which leaded to quick wear of the teeth and to many enamel notches, but had been somewhat balanced by the early increase of hypsodonty, not induced in such a case by a biotop deterioration (as it will happen at the end of the Eocene). This ínadaptation might account for the short duration of the genus Leptolophus, whose the 3 species, L. stehlini, L. nouletí and L. magnus n. sp. are indeed confined in the level MP 16. Its geographical spreading (as far as known, South of western Europe) and the morphological pattern of its dentition suggest that this genus would have been related to early upper Eocene endemic spanish forms.