Morphological and biometrical description of skulls, teeth, and limb bones of extant and fossil Old World herniones (including E. hydruntinus) and of New World 'stilt-Iegged' and other slender species from Blancan to Holocene. An Appendix presents ways in which the approximate size of some missing bones or dimensions may be deduced from available ones.

The discussed and/or illustrated fossils were found in Bolivia (Tarija), Canada (Yukon), China (Choukoutien, Gulongshan, Jiling, Loufangzi), Ecuador (Oil Fields), Ethiopia (Melka Kunturé), France (Lunel-Viel), Germany (Süssenborn), Greece (Agios Georgios, Petralona), Hungary (Dorog), Italy (Romanelli), Mexico (Cedazo, San Josecito), Mongolia (Sjara-osso-gol), Spain (Venta Micena), ex-Soviet Union (Akhalkalaki, Binagady, Chokurcha, Chukochya, Kabazi, Kolyma, Krestovka, Kurtak, Staroselie, Tologoj), USA (Alaska, Arkalon, Cedar Meadow, Channing, Conkling, Dry Mountains, Hay Springs, Leisey Shell Pit A, Lissie Formation, Natural Trap, Pool Branch, Powers Ranch, Rock Creek, San Diego, Santo Domingo, Seymour Formation, Shelter, Slaton, Trinity River). Numerous raw or statistically elaborated data are given in Tables.

There is no evidence for the existence of Old World hemiones in the New World nor of 'stilt-Iegged' equids in the Old World. The first 'stilt-Iegged' equid was found at Santo Domingo, New Mexico, and is believed to be Late Blancan. It was probably at the origin of E. calobatus (Arkalon, Rock Creek) and of the smaller E. semiplicatus (Channing, Rock Creek). Slender, but not 'stilt-Iegged', equids found at Natural Trap, Wyoming, ca. 12 ky ago belong to Amerhippus. AlI these species share with Oid World Sussemiones (and some hemiones) peculiar patterns on the lower cheek teeth.

The slender Equus sp. B of Leisey Pit A, Florida, ca. 1.2 Ma, as weIl as Amerhippus francisci and E. tau (probably a senior synonym of E. quinni) share conventional lower cheek teeth patterns. The skulls of A. francisci and E. tau, however, are quite different.

Paleontological data suggest a common origin of Amerhippus, Sussemiones, and 'stilt-Iegged' equids during the late Blancan. Old World hemiones seem to have differentiated later. 

Tarsals that can be confidently attributed to Paschatheríum dolloi from Dormaal (Belgium) are described. The astragalus is short; its broad neck is set at an angle of 30 degrees to the trochlea. The trochlea is pulley-shaped and proximally extended. There is no astragalar foramen. The medial tibial facet extends distally in a cup deeply excavated in the neck and buttressed. The sustentacular facet extends toward the navicular facet but is not fully confluent with it. The calcaneum bears a proximo-distally extended proximal facet for the astragalus. A relatively large peroneal tubercle projects from the body, and is situated distally. Functionally, the trochlea indicates extensive flexion-extension movements of the foot. Calcaneo-astragalar facets indicate sliding and rotation between the two tarsals. The inclination of the navicular facet suggests frequent foot inversion. The peroneal tubercle reflects good muscular capacities for foot rotation. Overall morphology is interpreted as a scansorial adaptation similar to that of sciurids.Comparisons are made with the tarsals of Macrocranion vandebroeki from Dormaal and Hyopsodus paulus from the Bridgerian of Wyoming. Some similarities between the astragali of Paschatherium and Macrocraníon (trochlea) are interpreted as convergences for rapid locomotion. However absence of mobility at the lower ankle and midtarsal joints in M. vandebroekzi suggests that this species was cursorial, as is known for M. tenerum from Messel. Similarities in the calcanea of Paschatherium and Hyopsodus are probably the result of close phylogenetic relations, and confirm the placement of Paschatherium in the hyopsodontids. The differences in the calcanea of Paschatherium and Macrocranion underline that Paschatherium is distinct from erinaceomorph insectivores. The differences in astragalar morphology between Paschatherium and Hyopsodus show that a marked adaptive divergence separates the two genera. We speculate about the common occurrence of a deep tibial cup (“cotylar fossa”) and a pulley-shaped trochlea in Paschatherium and hyracoids, suggesting that an adaptive scenario similar to that having led to Paschatherium (scansoriality) might explain the acquisition of the peculiar hyracoid tarsal characters; such a scenario contradicts the concept of Pantomesaxonia. Other peculiar characters of Hyopsodus suggest that hyopsodontids might be given more consideration in the search for hyracoid (and tethythere) origins. 

The rodents from the spanish locality of Can Ponsic 1 bring new data about some rodents species of the beginning of the Upper Miocene in South-West Europe. The criticims made by Mein and Freudenthal about the validity of the species Hispanomys thaleri from Can Llobateres are not justiíied. The study of the anatomy of the skull of Rotundomys from Can Ponsic 1 gives accurate information about the affinity of this genus with Cricetulus, and shows that the hypothesis, according to which Rotundomys is an ancestral form of the Arvicolids, is unlikely. The systematics of Heteroxerus and the phylogeny of the mio-pliocene Muscardinus species are also discussed. The Can Ponsic 1 locality is a little older than Can Llobateres.

  

We present here the preliminary results from a new nesting site "Sextius-Mirabeau", discovered close to the historical centre of Aix-en-Provence in Upper Cretaceous deposits. This extensive megaloolithid nesting ground, the first large scale excavation (3225 m²) in France, yielded more than 530 eggs, some organized in clusters. Their study reveals the reproductive strategy of the megaloolithid egglayer group which indicates nesting fidelity and gregarious behaviour.  

The region of Porrentruy (Swiss Jura Mountains) is known for its rich and diverse assemblage of Late Jurassic coastal marine turtles (Thalassochelydia). Dominated by the “Plesiochelyidae”, this assemblage also includes representatives of the two other thalassochelydian groups, the “Thalassemydidae” and “Eurysternidae.” In this study, we present new shell-based material from Porrentruy referable to eurysternids. One specimen represents a juvenile individual or a relatively small taxon, and is notably characterized by a well fenestrated plastron exhibiting a wider than long central plastral fontanelle. Two other specimens are much larger and possibly represent the largest eurysternids known to date. The fourth specimen is characterized by a unique plastral morphology otherwise only known in very small juveniles. This is the first time this unique plastral morphology is known to persist in an adult or subadult. The new material described herein represents at least three distinct taxa, all of them probably new. However, we refrain from naming new species based on this incomplete material in order to avoid adding confusion to an already complex taxonomical situation. This study provides new insights into the great diversity of eurysternids during the Late Jurassic. 

Two new finds of pantodont materials from southern China, assigned to Archaeolambda, are described in this paper. One, a new species from the Nanxiong Basin, Guangdong Province, is similar to Alcidedorbignya inopinata from the early Paleocene of Tiupampa, Bolivia in size. It provides reliable evidence of the occurrence of Archaeolambda in the early-middle Paleocene of southern China. The second find includes specimens of Archaeolambda sp. cf. A. planicanina from the ?late Paleocene of Hengyang Basin, Hunan Province, which are the first record of a fossil mammal from the area near Hengyang city. The only vertebrate fossils previously found here were two genera of crocodiles discovered in 1938. This find sheds new light on the local biostratigraphy. 

Abstract not available 

The murid fauna of the terminal Pliocene of southwest Europe is rich in at least eight genera and ten species. With the species belonging to the genera Apodemus, Rhagapodemus, and Stephanomys not being studied here, the study of the other murids resulted for one thing in the description of three new genera and three new species: Castillomys crusafonti n. g., n. sp., Occitanomys brailloni n. g., n. sp., Anthracomys meini n. sp., Valerymys ellenbergerí (THALER) n. g., and for another thing in the recognition of a form hitherto unknown in this region, Micromys praeminutus KRETZOI. Systematic study has shown that certain species of the terminal Pliocene fauna had their ancestors in the Turolian fauna presently known in Spain. The evolutionary lineages thereby recognized have been studied more in detail and a list of the evolutionary tendencies of the dendal characters has been given. A chart of the probable phyletic relationships between the different murids of the Pliocene faunas of southwest Europe (With the genus Rhagapodemus and Apodemus dominans being excluded) is given in conclusion of this work. 

In this article is described a new species of Nyctitheriidae with primitive characters: Leptacodon nascimentoi n. sp. from the early Eocene of Silveirinha (Portugal). 

Anthracotheres from the Pondaung Formation, Myanmar, are considered as one of the most primitive artiodactyl groups and they represent the oldest known record in the world. Thus, the understanding of this group has numerous implications for evolutionary biology and biochronological correlations. However, the systematlcs of these mammals has been interpreted in different ways, and the main debate focuses on the number of taxa represented in the Pondaung Formation. The revised taxonomy proposed here is mainly based on the relative development of the upper molar W-shaped ectoloph, system of crests and stylar cusps, and on body size. On the basis of these characters, they are classified into four genera including six different species. Two well-known genera, Anthracotherium and Anthracokeryx, are validated and more precisely diagnosed. Anthracokeryx possesses a better developed W-shaped ectoloph, system of crests and stylar cusps than Anthracotherium, which displays notable differences with the more derived representatives of this genus. Both of these Pondaung genera show evidence for sexual dimorphism. However, the incompleteness of fossil material fueled a debate concerning the status of two additional Pondaung anthracotheres, Siamotherium and Anthracohyus. The latter genus is of uncertain affinities, but it has been considered as a hippopotamid ancestor. Despite new material attributed to these two forms, additional discoveries are still required to establish their taxonomic status. The hypothesis that Southeast Asia was the centre of origin of Anthracotheriidae is supported by the retention of numerous primitive dental characters in these taxa and by the antiquity of the Pondaung Formation, to which an age of 37 My is now generally accepted. 

Re-evaluation of the small collection of mammal fossils from the Changxindian Formation near Beijing, China indicates the following taxa are present: Eutheria, Hypsimilus beifingensis, cf. Miacis sp., Anthracotheriidae and Forstercooperia grandis. The presence of Forstercooperia grandis indicates an Irdinmanhan age and does not support previous assignment of a Sharamurunian age to the Changxindian Formation. 

The re-examination of six fossil selachian species has involved the creation of six new genera: Squatiscyllium, Protolamna, Parotodus, Abdounia, Physogaleus, Hypolophodon and of one new species : Prozolamna sokolovi. The modification of the generic statute of these species allows to clarify their systematic position and to define their relationships at a familial level. 

A new genus, Eppsillycteris, is erected for Adapisorex? allglicus COOPER, 1932, from the earliest Eocene Blackheath Beds of Abbey Wood, London, England. Various derived character states indicate that it belongs to the order Chiroptera (bats) rather than to the extinct "insectivore" family Adapisoricidae. Other derived character states are shared with fossil and modern members of the family Emballonuridae. Placement of the new genus in this family extends the record of the Emballonuridae back in time by about 10 million years. It is the earliest record of a modern bat family and one of the earliest bats. This implies that the differentiation of at least some modern bat families took place in the Palaeocene, where no authenticated records of bats yet exist. The primitive characters of the earliest bats make the family Nyctitheriidae an unlikely stem group for the order Chiroptera. A tentative plausible alternative exists in some unnamed upper molars from the Palaeocene of Walbeck, Germany. Wyollycteris chalix, described as a bat from the Late Palaeocene of Wyoming, U,S.A., fits better in the family Nyctitheriidae. 

Systematische Zoologie by A. REMANE, V. STORCH, and U. WELSCH.
1986, Edition 3. Cloth and paperbound. Stuttgart and New York : Gustav Fischer Verlag.
xvi + 698 pp. DM 86. (Geb.) & DM 72 (kart.). 

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.





  

The investigations undertaken at Crivadia (Hateg Depression, Hunedoara District, Romania), the type locality of Crivadiatherium mackennai RADULESCO el al. (Radulesco, Iliesco et lliesco, 1976), led to the discovery of remains of a new Embrithopod. Close to the above mentioned species, but larger in size, this animal is here described as a new species of Crivadiatherium, C. iliescui. ln addition, the comparison made between the forms indicated above and Palaeaamasía kansui OZANSOY from the Eocene deposits of Anatolia (Ozansoy, 1966; Sen et Heintz, 1979) showed that the latter species included a heterogeneous material; this permitted us to distinguish the form in the Anatolian locality Ciçekdag-Arabin Kôyü under the name Palaeoamasia sp. The geographical distribution and diversity of the Embrithopod species under discussion (Balkan, Anatolia) support the idea of an eurasiatic origin of this group and seem to suggest the existence during the Eocene of a particular faunal province in south-eastern Europe. 

Abstract not available 

Tetraceratops insignis is known from a single, crushed skull from the Lower Permian of Texas. Its unique proportions and osteological details gained central meaning in the question of the origins of Therapsida since this early synapsid has been determined as the oldest and less derived therapsid. Apart from Tetraceratops, the ‘mammal-like’ Therapsida and their sister, the pelycosaur-grade Sphenacodontidae, are separated by one of the longest ghost lineages in tetrapod fossil record. However, the minor, though well justified critique faced insistent publication regarding the therapsid hypothesis. A carefull re-evaluation of the holotypic skull reveals that therapsid traits cannot be supported, including a rejection of the formerly supposed adductor shelf in the temporal fenestra. Increased understanding of ‘pelycosaur’ character variation underlines a haptodontine-grade or, less likely, sphenacodontid position for Tetraceratops. 

This paper proposes a systematic revision of the Oligocene Mongolian Ctenodactylidae, on the basis of abundant material obtained by screen/washing operations in stratified localities of the Ulantatal area (Inner Mongolia) (UTL1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 6 & 8). A Chinese-German team has collected several thousands of isolated rodent teeth, and a number of fragmentary jaws. A new genus is identified (Alashania nov. gen. tengkoliensis nov. sp.), and eight former species are reevaluated, Karakoromys decessus, Tataromys sigmodon, T. minor, T. plicidens, Yindirtemys ulantatalensis, Y. bohlini, Y. deflexus, with several synonymies. A new Yindirtemys species is described: Y. shevyrevae nov. sp. and another one close to that: Y. aff. shevyrevae nov. sp. Four new species, which are rare in the localities, remain in open nomenclature because they are not well-represented. Yindirtemys differs from the other genera by the permanence of crescentic structures, while the other genera show a general reduction of the trigonoid area (= anterior valley). We define a range of size variation for each well documented population. Although the dental morphology shows a wide range of variation, given that transitional morphologies occur in a single locality, it is possible to provide a clear definition for most species. We show that dental patterns of the different genera can be derived from the pattern of Karakoromys. As a number of Tataromyinae have been determined in several localities from China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, usually on the basis of scarce material, or surface collections, the present study would be used to re-evaluate their attribution inasmuch as the taxa are now placed in the Oligocene stratigraphy. The diversity of sizes and forms reflects the adaptive radiation of the family during the Oligocene, within a forested environment where the vegetation was probably abundant. 

The dentition of selachians is characterized by an often very pronounced heterodonty involving a great morphological diversity. Despite this fact, the dentitions of selachians can be grouped in a rather reduced number of dental types corresponding to trophic adaptations: grasping, tearing, cutting, crushing, grinding and grasping-grinding type. The numerous exemples of convergence and parallelism that can be observed in fossil selachians and between Recent and fossil ones is the result of this reduced number of dental types. These dental specialisations allow to try a reconstruction of the way of life of fossil forms.