A late Eocene palaeoamasiine embrithopod (Mammalia, Afrotheria) from the Adriatic realm (Island of Rab, Croatia)

Fabrice Lihoreau, Ljerka Marjanac, Tihomir Marjanac, Ozan Erdal and Pierre-Olivier Antoine

Cite this article: Lihoreau F., Marjanac L., Marjanac T., Erdal O., Antoine P.-O., 2023. A late Eocene palaeoamasiine embrithopod (Mammalia, Afrotheria) from the Adriatic realm (Island of Rab, Croatia). Palaeovertebrata 47(1)-e1. doi: 10.18563/pv.47.1.e1

Save to Mendeley
Save to BibTeX

Abstract

A cheek tooth recently unearthed in the Lopar Sandstone unit, of late Eocene age, in the northern part of Rab Island, Croatia, is one of the very few Eocene mammalian remains found in the Adriatic area. Thorough comparison of this tooth with those of Old-World Palaeogene mammalian orders suggests that it is a M3 belonging to an embrithopod afrothere. The specimen is referred to as Palaeoamasia sp. This genus was formerly known only in Eocene deposits of Anatolia but with close relatives in Romania among Palaeoamasiinae. The geographical distribution of this subfamily perfectly matches the recently-named Balkanatolian landmass, which experienced in-situ evolution of endemic mammals prior to the Grande Coupure event that occurred around the Eocene–Oligocene transition. This last event is characterised by massive Asian immigration in Western Europe and the supposed extinction of many endemic Central and Western European mammals, including Palaeoamasiinae.
  

Bibliography

Antoine, P.-O., Becker, D., Pandolfi, L., Geraads, D., in press. Chapter 2. Evolution and fossil record of Old World Rhinocerotidae. In: Melletti, M., Balfour, D., Talukdar, B. (Eds.), Rhinos of the World: Ecology, Conservation and Management. Springer Nature, Berlin.

Antoine, P.-O., Ibrahim Shah, S. M., Cheema, I. U., Crochet, J.-Y., Franceschi, D. de, Marivaux, L., Métais, G., Welcomme, J.-L., 2004. New remains of the baluchithere Paraceratherium bugtiense from the Late/latest Oligocene of the Bugti hills, Balochistan, Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24, 71–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaes.2003.09.005

Antoine, P.-O., Karadenizli, L., Saraç, G., Sen, S., 2008. A giant rhinocerotoid (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Late Oligocene of north-central Anatolia (Turkey). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 152, 581–592. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2007.00366.x

Bai, B., Meng, J., Zhang, C., Gong, Y.-X., Wang, Y.-Q., 2020. The origin of Rhinocerotoidea and phylogeny of Ceratomorpha (Mammalia, Perissodactyla). Communications Biology 3, 509. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-01205-8

Beard, K. C., Métais, G., Ocakoğlu, F., Licht, A., 2021. An omomyid primate from the Pontide microcontinent of north-central Anatolia: implications for sweepstakes dispersal of terrestrial mammals during the Eocene. Geobios 66–67, 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2020.06.008

Benic, J., 1983. Vapnenacki nanoplankton i njegova primjena u biostratigrafiji krednih i paleogenskih naslaga Hrvatske [Calcareous nanoplankton and its application in the biostratigraphy of Cretaceous and Paleogene deposits in Croatia]. PhD Thesis, University of Zagreb.

Blondel, C., 2001. The Eocene–Oligocene ungulates from Western Europe and their environment. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 168, 125–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-0182(00)00252-2

Böhme, M., Aiglstorfer, M., Antoine, P.-O., Appel, E., Havlik, P., Métais, G., Phuc, L.T., Schneider, S., Setzer, F., Tappert, R., others, 2013. Na Duong (northern Vietnam)–an exceptional window into Eocene ecosystems from Southeast Asia. Zitteliana A. 53, 121–167.

Bonis, L. de, 1964. Etude de quelques mammifères du Ludien de la Débruge (Vaucluse). Annales de Paléontologie 2, 121–154.

Cavelier, C., Chateaunef, J.-J., Pomerol, C., Rabussier, D., Renard, M., Vergnaud-Grazzini, C., 1981. The geological events at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 36, 223–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(81)90108-5

Danilo, L., Rémy, J., Vianey-Liaud, M., Marandat, B., Sudre, J., Lihoreau, F., 2013. A new Eocene locality in southern France sheds light on the basal radiation of Palaeotheriidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Equoidea). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33, 195–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2012.711404

Dashzeveg, D., 1991. Hyracodontids and rhinocerotids (Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotoidea) from the Paleogene of Mongolia. Palaeovertebrata 21, 1–84.

Deng, T., Lu, X., Wang, S., Flynn, L. J., Sun, D., He, W., Chen, S., 2021. An Oligocene giant rhino provides insights into Paraceratherium evolution. Communications Biology. 4, 639. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02170-6

Ducrocq, S., Lihoreau, F., 2006. The occurrence of bothriodontines (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) in the Paleogene of Asia with special reference to Elomeryx: paleobiogeographical implications. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 27, 885–891. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2005.09.004

Erdal, O., Antoine, P.-O., Sen, S., 2016. New material of Palaeoamasia kansui (Embrithopoda, Mammalia) from the Eocene of Turkey and a phylogenetic analysis of Embrithopoda at the species level. Palaeontology 59, 631–655. https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12247

Gervais, P., 1848. Zoologie et paléontologie françaises (animaux vertébrés) ou nouvelles recherches sur les animaux vivants et fossiles de la France. Bertrand, Paris. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.39473

Gervais, P., 1849. Recherches sur les mammifères fossiles des genres Palaeotherium et Lophiodon et sur les autres animaux de la même classe que l’on a trouvés avec eux dans le midi de la France. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Paris 29, 568–579.

Gheerbrant, E., Tassy, P., Domning, D. P. 2005. Paenungulata (Sirenia, Proboscidea, Hyracoidea). In: Rose K. D., Archibald J. D. (Eds), The Rise of Placental Mammals: Origins and Relationships of the Major Extant Clades. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp.84-105.

Gheerbrant, E., Schmitt, A., Kocsis, L., 2018. Early African fossils elucidate the origin of embrithopod mammals. Current Biology 28, 2167-2173.e2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.032

Gheerbrant, E., Khaldoune, F., Schmitt, A., Tabuce, R. 2021. Earliest embrithopod mammals (Afrotheria, Tethytheria) from the Early Eocene of Morocco: anatomy, systematics and phylogenetic significance. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 28, 245-283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-020-09509-6

Ghezzo, E., Giusberti, L., 2016. New insights on Anthracotherium monsvialense De Zigno, 1888 (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from the Lower Oligocene of Monteviale (Vicenza, Northeastern Italy). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 122(3), 119-140

Grandi, F., Bona, F., 2017. Prominatherium dalmatinum from the late Eocene of Grancona (Vicenza, NE Italy). The oldest terrestrial mammal of the Italian peninsula. Comptes Rendus Palevol 16, 738–745. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2017.04.002

Haq, B. U., Hardenbol, J., Vail, P. R.,1987. Chronology of fluctuating sea levels since the Triassic. Science 235(4793), 1156–1167. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.235.4793.1156

Heissig, K., 1990. Ein Oberkiefer von Anthracohyus (Mammalia, ?Artiodactyla) aus dem Eozän Jugoslawiens. Mitteilungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Historische Geologie 30, 57–64.

Heissig, K., 2001. Anthracohyus (Artiodactyla, Mammalia), an Eurasian Achaenodontid. Lynx 32, 97–105.

Hellmund, M., 1991. Revision der Europaischen species der gattung Elomeryx (Marsh 1894) (Anthracotheriidae, Artiodactyla, Mammalia). Odontologische untersuchungen. Paleontographica. Beiträge zur Naturgeschitchte der Vorzeit. Abteilung A : Paläozoologie, Stratigraphie 220, 101 pp.

Hooker, J. J., Collinson, M. E., Sille, N. P., 2004. Eocene–Oligocene mammalian faunal turnover in the Hampshire Basin, UK: calibration to the global time scale and the major cooling event. Journal of the Geological Society 161, 161–172. https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-764903-091

Kaya, T., 1995. Palaeoamasia kansui (Mammalia) in the Eocene of Bultu-Zile (Tokat-Northeastern Turkey) and systematic revision of Palaeomasia. Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences 4(2), 105‑111.

Legendre, S., 1987. Les immigrations de la “Grande Coupure” sont-elles contemporaines en Europe occidentale ? Münchner geowissenschaftliche Abhandlungen A. 10, 141–148.

Licht, A., Coster, P., Ocakoğlu, F., Campbell, C., Métais, G., Mulch, A., Taylor, M., Kappelman, J., Beard, K. C., 2017. Tectono-stratigraphy of the Orhaniye Basin, Turkey: implications for collision chronology and Paleogene biogeography of central Anatolia. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 143, 45-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.03.033

Licht, A., Métais, G., Coster, P., İbilioğlu, D., Ocakoğlu, F., Westerweel, J., Mueller, M., Campbell, C., Mattingly, S., Wood, M. C., Beard, K. C., 2022. Balkanatolia: The insular mammalian biogeographic province that partly paved the way to the Grande Coupure. Earth-Science Reviews 226, 103929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2022.103929

Lihoreau, F., Ducrocq, S., 2007. Family Anthracotheriidae. In: Prothero, D. R., Foss, S. C., (Eds.), The Evolution of Artiodactyls. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp. 89–105.

Maas, M. C., Thewissen, J. G., Kappelman, J., 1998. Hypsamasia seni (Mammalia: Embrithopoda) and other mammals from the Eocene Kartal Formation of Turkey. Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History 34, 286–297.

Marjanac, T., Marjanac, L., 2007. Sequence stratigraphy of Eocene incised valley clastics and associated sediments, Island of Rab, northern Adriatic Sea, Croatia. Facies 53, 493–508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-007-0120-6

Mennecart, B., 2012. The Ruminantia (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from the Oligocene to the early Miocene of Western europe: systematics, palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography. PhD Thesis, University of Fribourg.

Mennecart, B., Geraads, D., Spassov, N., Zagorchev, I., 2018. Discovery of the oldest European ruminant in the late Eocene of Bulgaria: did tectonics influence the diachronic development of the Grande Coupure? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 498, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.01.011

Métais, G., Antoine, P.-O., Baqri, S. R. H., Crochet, J.-Y., De Franceschi, D., Marivaux, L., Welcomme, J.-L., 2009. Lithofacies, depositional environments, regional biostratigraphy and age of the Chitarwata Formation in the Bugti Hills, Balochistan, Pakistan. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 34, 154–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2008.04.006

Métais, G., Coster, P. M., Kappelman, J. R., Licht, A., Ocakoğlu, F., Taylor, M. H., Beard, K. C., 2018. Eocene metatherians from Anatolia illuminate the assembly of an island fauna during Deep Time. PLOS ONE 13, e0206181. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0206181

Métais, G., Gheerbrant, E., Sen, S., 2012. Re-interpretation of the genus Parabunodon (Ypresian, Turkey): implications for the evolution and distribution of pleuraspidotheriid mammals. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 92, 477–486. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-012-0095-3

Métais, G., Erdal, O., Erturac, K., Beard, K. C. 2016. Tarsal morphology of the pleuraspidotheriid mammal Hilalia from the middle Eocene of Turkey. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 62 (1), 173–179. https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00314.2016

Métais, G., Sen, S., 2017. First occurrence of Palaeotheriidae (Perissodactyla) from the late–middle Eocene of eastern Thrace (Greece). Comptes Rendus Palevol 16, 382–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2017.01.001

Métais, G., Vislobokova, I., 2007. Basal ruminants. In: Prothero, D. R., Foss, S. C., (Eds.), The Evolution of Artiodactyls. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp. 189–212.

Meyer, H. V., 1854. Anthracotherium dalmatinum aus der Braunkohle des Monte Promina und andere Anthracotherien. Palaeontographica 4, 61–66.

Mihlbachler, M. C., 2008. Species taxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography of the Brontotheriidae (Mammalia: Perissodactyla). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 311, 1-475. https://doi.org/10.1206/0003-0090(2008)501[1:STPABO]2.0.CO;2

Muldini-Mamuzic, S., 1962. Mirofaunisticko istrazivanje eocenskog fliSa otoka Raba [Mirofaunistic exploration of the Eocene fluvio-flora of the island of Rab.]. Geoloski vjesnik 15(1), 143-159.

Nikolov, I., Heissig, K., 1985. Fossile Säugetiere aus dem Obereozän und Unteroligozän Bulgariens und ihre Bedeutung für die Paläogeographie. Mitteilungen der Bayerischen Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und historische Geologie 25, 61–79.

Osborn, H. F., 1929. Embolotherium, gen. nov. of the Ulan Gochu, Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 353, 1–20.

Ozansoy, F., 1966. Türkiye senozoik çağlarında fosil insan formu prblemi ve biostratigrafik dayanakları [The problem of fossil human form in the Cenozoic of Turkey and its biostratigraphic bases]. Ankara Üniversitesi Basımevi 172, 1–104.

Pandolfi, L., Carnevale, G., Costeur, L., Favero, L. D., Fornasiero, M., Ghezzo, E., Maiorino, L., Mietto, P., Piras, P., Rook, L., Sansalone, G., Kotsakis, T., 2017. Reassessing the earliest Oligocene vertebrate assemblage of Monteviale (Vicenza, Italy). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 15, 83–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2016.1147170

Patrulius, D., 1954. Asupra prezentei anthracoteridului Prominatherium dalmatinum H. Meyer, in depozitele paleogene de la Sãcel (Maramures) [On the presence of the anthracotheriid Prominatherium dalmatinum H. Meyer, in paleogene deposits from Sãcel (Maramures).]. Buletin Stiintific Sectiunea de Stiinte Biologice, Agronomice, Geologice si Geografice 6, 857–869.

Pélissié, T., Orliac, M., Antoine, P.O., Biot, V., Escarguel, G., 2021. Beyond Eocene and Oligocene Epochs: the Causses du Quercy Geopark and the Grande Coupure. Geoconservation Research 4, 1-13.

Pickford, M., Senut, B., Morales, J., Mein, P., Sanchez, I. M., 2008. Mammalia from the Lutetian of Namibia. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Namibia 20, 465–514.

Pilgrim, G. E., Cotter, P., 1916. Some newly discovered Eocene mammals from Burma. Records of the Geological Survey of India 47, 42–77.

Radulesco, C., Iliesco, G., Iliesco, M., 1976. Un embrithopode nouveau (Mammalia) dans le Paléogène de la dépression de Hateg (Roumanie) et la géologie de la région. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie 11, 690–698.

Radulesco, C., Sudre, J., 1985. Crivadiatherlum iliescui n. sp., nouvel embrithopode (Mammalia) dans le Paléogène ancien de la dépression de Hateg (Roumanie). Palaeovertebrata 15, 139–157.

Rage, J.-C., 1984. La "Grande Coupure" éocène/oligocène et les herpétofaunes (Amphibiens et Reptiles); problèmes du synchronisme des évènements paléobiogéographiques. Bulletin de la Société géologique de France 7, 1251–1257. https://doi.org/10.2113/gssgfbull.S7-XXVI.6.1251

Rémy, J., 2015. Les Périssodactyles (Mammalia) du gisement Bartonien supérieur de Robiac (Éocène moyen du Gard, Sud de la France). Palaeovertebrata 39, 1-98. https://doi.org/10.18563/pv.39.1.e3

Sagne, C., 2001. La diversification des siréniens à l’Eocène (Sirenia, Mammalia) : étude morphologique et analyse phylogénétique du sirénien de Taulanne, Halitherium taulannense. PhD thesis Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

Sanders, W. J., Nemec, W., Aldinucci, M., Janbu, N. E., Ghinassi, M., 2014. Latest evidence of Palaeoamasia (Mammalia, Embrithopoda) in Turkish Anatolia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34, 1155–1164. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.850430

Saraç, G., 2003. Discovery of Protaceratherium albigense (Rhinocerotidae, Mammalia) in Oligocene coastal deposits of Turkish Thrace. In: Reumer, J. W. F., Wessels, W., (Eds.), Distribution and Migration of Tertiary Mammals in Eurasia. A Volume in Honour of Hans de Bruijn, DEINSEA Natuurmuseum Rotterdam. Artoos Rijswik, Rotterdam, pp. 509–517.

Scherler, L., Lihoreau, F., Becker, D., 2018. To split or not to split Anthracotherium? A phylogeny of Anthracotheriinae (Cetartiodactyla: Hippopotamoidea) and its palaeobiogeographical implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 185(2), 487-510. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zly052

Sen, S., 2013. Dispersal of African mammals in Eurasia during the Cenozoic: ways and whys. Geobios 46, 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2012.10.012

Sen, S., Antoine, P.-O., Varol, B., Ayyildiz, T., Sözeri, K., 2011. Giant rhinoceros Paraceratherium and other vertebrates from Oligocene and middle Miocene deposits of the Kağızman-Tuzluca Basin, Eastern Turkey. Naturwissenschaften 98, 407–423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-011-0786-z

Sen, S., Heintz, E., 1979. Palaeoamasia kansui Ozansoy 1966, embrithopode (Mammalia) de l’Eocène d’Anatolie. Annales de Paléontologie 65, 73–91.

Stehlin, H.G., 1910. Remarques sur les faunules de mammifères de l’Eocène et de l’Oligocène du Bassin de Paris. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 4, 448–520.
Sudre, J., 1971. Étude de la variabilité chez Lophiodon lautricense Noulet. Palaeovertebrata 4, 67–95. https://doi.org/10.18563/pv.4.3.67-95

Tissier, J., Becker, D., Codrea, V., Costeur, L., Fărcaş, C., Solomon, A., Venczel, M., Maridet, O., 2018. New data on Amynodontidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Eastern Europe: phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographic implications around the Eocene-Oligocene transition. PLOS ONE 13, e0193774. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193774

Uhlig, U., 1999. Paleobiogeography of some Palaeogene rhinocerotoids (Mammalia) in Europe. Acta palaeontologica romaniae 2, 477–481.

van Hinsbergen, D. J. J., Torsvik, T. H., Schmid, S. M., Maţenco, L. C., Maffione, M., Vissers, R. L. M., Gürer, D., Spakman, W., 2020. Orogenic architecture of the Mediterranean region and kinematic reconstruction of its tectonic evolution since the Triassic. Gondwana Research 81, 79–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2019.07.009

Veine-Tonizzo, L., Tissier, J., Bukhsianidze, M., Vasilyan, D., Becker, D., 2023. Cranial morphology and phylogenetic relationships of Amynodontidae Scott and Osborn, 1883 (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotoidea). Comptes Rendus Palevol 22(8), 109-142. https://doi.org/10.5852/cr-palevol2023v22a8

Wang, X.-Y., Wang, Y.-Q., Zhang, R., Zhang, Z.-H., Liu, X.-L., Ren, L.-P., 2020. A new species of Amynodontopsis (Perissodactyla: Amynodontidae) from the Middle Eocene of Jiyuan, Henan, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 58, 188–203.

Westerhold, T., Marwan, N., Drury, A. J., Liebrand, D., Agnini, C., Anagnostou, E., Barnet, J. S. K., Bohaty, S. M., De Vleeschouwer, D., Florindo, F., Frederichs, T., Hodell, D. A., Holbourn, A. E., Kroon, D., Lauretano, V., Littler, K., Lourens, L. J., Lyle, M., Pälike, H., Röhl, U., Tian, J., Wilkens, R. H., Wilson, P. A.,

Zachos, J. C., 2020. An astronomically dated record of Earth’s climate and its predictability over the last 66 million years. Science 369, 1383–1387. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba6853
Wood, H. E., 1929. Prohyracodon orientale Koch, the oldest known true rhinoceros. American Museum Novitates 1–7.