The entelodonts of the Quercy phosphorites are essentially known from isolated teeth. The skull remains attributed to Entelodon magnum by Kowalewsky in 1876 and the type left mandible of Enteladon depereti RÉPELIN, 1918 do not belong to this family. From a morphologic point of view, the teeth from Quercy are quite comparable to those from the type localities of E. magnum and E. deguilhemi. In the absence of distinctive anatomical criteria between E. magnum (small species from the level of Ronzon) and E. deguilhemi (large species from the level of Villebramar) they are referred, according to their size, to one or the other of these two species. However, some of them are intermediate in size. Their existence speaks in favor of a close relationship between E. magnum and E. deguilhemi and confers a real stratigraphic interest to these entelodonts of Western Europe. Finally, some anatomical characters (notch on the mesial border of P4, presence of a paraconid joined to the metaconid, trigonid higher than talonid) considered until now as peculiar to the North American Archaeotherium and not yet cited in its European contemporary Entelodon have been brought to light on the teeth from Quercy.

  

More than 400 paleontological type-specimens housed in the Montpellier University collections have been inventoried in this catalogue which includes charophytes, Paleozoic plants, brachiopodes, molluscs, arthropodes and vertebrates (selachians, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals). The vertebrates have been treated exhaustively in the catalogue and one can consider that it includes most of the type specimens deposited in the Montpelier II collections. 

The Mont-Hélène's fauna [Pyrénées-Orientales, France], includes 15 species of rodents with a new one, Occitanomys montheleni n. sp. among the 9 species of the Murids which are listed. The uncommon Cricetid, Blancomys neglectus, is well represented in the fauna. Peculiarities of the population referred to Slephanomys cf. donnezaniare discussed. The locality a fissure filling may be the oldest one of Tabianian age known in Southern France. The diversity of the Murids gives evidence of a subtropical climate and of a diversified environment which may be linked to the spreading of the coastal plain following the filling up of the Roussillon Neogene Basin. 

Palaeotis weigelti, from the Middle Eocene of central Europe, is a flightless, paleognathous bird. It appears to be a member of the ostrich lineage on the basis of trivial derived characters. It is a very primitive ratite, however, and does not possess any of the highly specialized cursorial adaptations that characterize the modern steppe -and savanna- dwelling ostriches. 

Abstract: A very tiny cuckoo, Chambicuculus pusillus, was recently described after a few fragments of tarsometatarsi from the late Early/early Middle Eocene of Djebel Chambi, Tunisia. New remains, notably a coracoid, confirm the attribution of this genus to the recent family Cuculidae. This coracoid shows a very elongate and strap-like processus procoracoideus. This morphological feature is otherwise only known in the family Cuculidae. The characteristics of the coracoid and tarsometatarsi show that Chambicuculus is morphologically more advanced over the other stem cuculids described in Europe and North America. Chambicuculus is the oldest Cuculidae known so far. 

The status of the giant bird taxa Liornis floweri and Callornis giganteus from the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene) of Patagonia, first described by Ameghino (1895) is reassessed on the basis of a re-examination of the type material at the Natural History Museum, London. Liornis floweri, which lacks a Pons supratendineus on the tibiotarsus and has an unbifurcated Canalis interosseus distalis on the tarsometatarsus, is clearly a brontornithid and is considered as a junior synonym of Brontornis burmeisteri. Ameghino’s replacement of Callornis by Eucallornis is unjustified. Callornis giganteus is a chimera based on a phorusrhacid tarsometatarsus (probably belonging to Phorusrhacos longissimus) and a brontornithid tibiotarsus. The latter can be considered as the lectotype of Callornis giganteus, which may represent a small morph of Brontornis burmeisteri or a distinct taxon. It is referred to here as Brontornithidae indet. The tarsometatarsus described by Dolgopol de Saez (1927a,b) as Liornis minor and considered by her as a gracile brontornithid apparently has a bifurcated Canalis interosseus distalis and should therefore be placed among the Phorusrhacidae. 

Le présent volume est l'aboutissement d'un projet né il y a presque cinq ans. En décembre 1991, l'un d'entre nous (MG) prenait des contacts en vue de proposer un symposium sur les mammifères fossiles, dédié à D.E. Russell, dans le programme du 4e Congrès de la European Society for Evolutionary Biology. Ce congrès, baptisé "Evolution 93", devait se tenir à Montpellier en août 1993. Son Comité d'Organisation, animé par F. Catzeflis, recherchait des organisateurs de symposiums. L'idée fut acceptée avec enthousiasme par le second d'entre nous (PDG), et le titre de notre Symposium fut précisé: " Palaeobiology and Evolution of Early Cenozoic Mammals - A Symposium in Honor of D.E. Russell". Le projet fut formellement accepté par le Comité d'Organisation en avril 1992. 

The description of new material from three classic middle Eocene localities of western Europe permits the addition of details to the systematics of primitive Pseudosciurids. The cranial anatomy of Protadelomys cartieri (STEHLIN and SCHAUB) from Egerkingen is described here and compared to that of the Adelomyines from the late Eocene, until now the only ones known. The morphologic and biometric study of the dentition of P. cartieri compared to that of P. alsaticus n. sp. from Bouxwiller and P. Iugdunensis n. sp. from Lissieu, forms respectively older and younger than P. cartieri, permits the evolutionary tendencies of the group to be demonstrated and shows that notable differences in age exist between these localities. This ensemble of forms can constitute a valuable guide lineage in the establishment of a fine stratigraphy of the period. Other less well known lineages are present at Egerkingen along with P. cartieri. They can be related to genera that have been noted int he late Eocene. In conclusion, a criticism of recent zonation proposals, made by divers authors, completes this article. 

New records of terrestrial mammals from the Qasr el Sagha Formation, Fayum Depression, Egypt are reported, and the stratigraphic occurrences of these fossils noted. These include additional specimens of Moeritheríum, Barytherium, and anthracotheres, as well as the oldest record of a hyracoid in the Fayum.These Eocene mammals occur almost exclusively in the alluvial deposits of the Dir Abu Lifa Member of the Qasr el Sagha Formation and show close affinities to the faunas from the lower sequence of the Jebel Qatrani Formation. There is no evidence of a more marked faunal discontinuity between the Qasr el Sagha and Jebel Qatrani Formations than there is across any of the three major breaks in sedimentation that exist within the Jebel Qatrani Formation. The faunal similarities between fossils of the lower sequence of the Jebel Qatrani Formation and of the upper part of the Qasr el Sagha Formation is consistent with recent paleomagnetic dating that suggests that these rocks differ in age by only one to two million years. 

We experimentally explore the early taphonomic stages involving the decay and biodegradation of buried eggs and eggshells. Unfertilised commercial chicken eggs and eggshell fragments were buried in plastic containers and were kept under controlled conditions for eight months. Half of the containers were filled with marl, and the remainder with sand. All were saturated with fresh tap water, acidified water, sulphate water, or seawater. They were kept in the dark at 23.4-26 °C, except one, which was kept in a heating chamber at 37.4°C. We expected that different burial conditions would produce distinct taphonomic outcomes. Instead, the taphonomic alterations of buried eggs parallel that of the alteration of egg proteins (i.e., denaturation and/or putrefaction) with an additional role played by the eggshell. Mummification, encrustation, distortion and fragmentation, and necrokynesis (vertical displacement) depend on organic matter decay. The experiment identifies environmental conditions that may favour or actively promote these taphonomic processes. Of these, early pyritization is one of the most relevant. For comparative purposes, samples of fossil and extinct eggshell representing three distinct environmental burial conditions were examined. These included Megaloolithus, Caiman crocodilus, and Struthio camelus ootypes. The geochemical analysis of these eggshells showed no significant differences among the chemical variables of these fossil and extant ootypes. Eggshells exhibited a stable composition over a range of experimental conditions. 
  

A critical review on the literature about the parataxonomy of amniote eggshells reasserts the great interest of this systematics tool for the progress of dinosaur eggshell paleontology. However, shedding light on its limits, we propose to give up the use of the basic types - morphotypes key system. 

Monsieur René Lavocat, Directeur du Laboratoire de Paléontologie des Vertébrés de la troisième section de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, quittait le service actif en l'année 1979.
Cela fait maintenant quinze ans que fut installé à Montpellier, le laboratoire de Paléontologie des Vertébrés de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. La décision de M. René Lavocat a été particulièrement heureuse dans ses conséquences. Il a en effet permis le développement de l'enseignement et de la recherche en Paléontologie des Vertébrés à l'Université de Montpellier où se créa un des centres importants de cette discipline, en France. Il suscita la création de nouveaux laboratoires de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes installés dès leur origine à Montpellier, ainsi que le déplacement à Montpellier d'un Laboratoire de l'Ecole Pratique, préexistant. Ce groupe de laboratoires constitue maintenant l'Institut de Montpellier de l'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes.
[...] 

The wear facets of primitive rodents can be homologized with those of primitive primates and ungulates. As in primates, the jaw movement was ectental, with an increased anterior component in the lingual phase (phase ll). The buccal phase (phase I) in rodents approaches the horizontal and it tends to be reduced in importance in comparison with the lingual phase. ln more advanced rodents the efficiency of grinding is increased by the development of additional cutting edges of enamel (e.g. enlargement of hypocone, development of mesoloph and lingual sinus). The buccal phase movement becomes lined up with the lingual phase movement to form a single oblique chewing stroke,resulting in planation of the crown. As the stroke becomes more longitudinal (propalinal) the enamel edges become more transverse. In Muridae propalinal chewing evolved before the loss of cusps, facets were reorientated and additional cusps developed. 

The stapes is the last of the middle ear ossicle chain and the smallest bone of the mammalian skeleton. Because it rests on the membrane of the fenestra vestibuli during life, the stapes may often fall within the bony labyrinth cavity when soft structures decay after death. In this work, we highlight the unexpected role that the bony labyrinth plays in the preservation of the stapes. Systematic investigation of the bony labyrinth of 50 petrosal bones of extinct and extant artiodactyls led to the discovery of eight cases of “intralabyrinthine” stapes. Three dimensional reconstructions of these stapes allow documenting stapes morphology of four extinct artiodactyl taxa: Microstonyx erymanthius (Suidae), Elomeryx borbonicus (Hippopotamoidea), ?Helohyus plicodon (Helohyidae), and an undetermined Cainotheriidae; and four extant ones Choeropsis and Hippopotamus (Hippopotamidae), and Tayassu and Phacochoerus (Suoidea). ?Helohyus plicodon from the Middle Eocene documents the oldest stapes known for the order Artiodactyla. Morphological study and metric analyses of our sample of artiodactylan stapes show that stapes are likely to carry relevant phylogenetic characters/signal within artiodactyls, and a potential Euungulata signature. 

Description, for the first time, of the skull of Ruscinomys Depéret on the basis of a nearly complete specimen, and description of a new facial part of a Megacricetodon Fahlbusch skull (material from upper Miocene, Spain). New description of the skull (facial part) of " Cricetodon" incertum Schlosser on the basis of the specimen from the Oligocene of Quercy phosphorites already published by S. Schaub.
Comparison of the skull of “ C. ” incertum with that of the asiatic genus Cricetops Matthew and Granger and that of the North-American Eumys Leidy. These three genera of similar age display very distinct characteristics; their common origin must go back to the Eocene, as Wood believed.
Comparisons of the auditory regions of Ruscínomys and of Megacricetodon where important differences are noted. Comparison of the Cricetodontines from European Miocene with contemporary Cricetines. Contrary of the opinion held by Schaub, their anatomical differences do not seem suflicient to warrant the contention that none of the Cricetines derive from a form close to one of the known Cricetodontines. 

The exploitation of new early Eocene localities in the Paris Basin has resulted in the collecting of  numerous mammalian remains, among which are about 300 isolated teeth representing the rodents. They belong, for the most part, to the paramyid group. Only the latest level of the early Eocene has yielded rodents belonging to the pseudosciurid group. The paramyids, the object of this study, are represented by at least 5 genera and 10 species; they are distributed among 4 clearly dilferentiated subfamilies : Paramyinae Simpson 1945, Pseudoparamyinae Michaux 1964, Ailuraviínae n. subf., Microparamyinae Wood1962.
It results from this study that the principal types of rodents in the middle and late Eocene of Europe are clearly related to the forms described here: Plesiarctomys Bravard 1850 is related to Pseudoparamys Michaux 1964, Ailuravus Rütimeyer1891 to Meldimys n. gen., Gliravus hammeli Thaler 1966 to Microparamys nanus (Theilard1927), and some Masillamys Tobien 1954 to Microparamys russelli Michaux 1964 and to M. sp. 1. Gliravus and Masillamys are the oldest representatives of the Gliridae and the Pseudosciurídae, respectively, families which will progressively replace the Paramyidae in the course of the middle and late Eocene.
Two stages can be recognized in the history of te European Paramyidae fauna during the course of the early Eocene: the older is characterized by the Mutigny fauna, the younger by the Cuis fauna.
The Mutigny fauna appears already rather diversified and does not completely correspond, point by point, to the homologous fauna of North America. A geographic differentiation seems to have been manifested rapidly, unless the fauna established in Europe was already a little different from that which established itself in North America. 

A detailed comparative study of a complete skeleton of Bachitherium and a cladistic analysis of the sub-order Neoselenodontia lead us to propose a cladogram and a new classification of this group. The Tylopoda are the sister-group of the Ruminantia, which are chiefly defined by the fusion of the cuboid and navicular. Within this infra-order, Amphimeryx is the sister genus of a tetraselenodont group, in which the Hypertragulidae are well-separated group from a monophyletic group defined by the loss of trapezium, fusion of capitatum and trapezoid, and the isolation of the hypoconid on lower molars. The most primitive genera of this group, Lophiomeryx and Iberomeryx still have an open trigonid on the lower molars, but this is lingually closed in Archaeomeryx, sister-genus of the higher Ruminantia which have fused metatarsals and more evolved milk teeth. We divide them into two pan/orders : Tragulina (including the recent and miocene Tragulidae, and the North-American Leptomerycidae), and Pecora, with reduced lateral metacarpals and a new crest (telocristid) on the lower premolars. Within the Pecora, the upper molars of Gelocus are more primitive than those of Bachitherium (a genus with many autapomorphies in the dentition) itself more primitive than the group Prodremotherium + Eupecora, with fused metacarpals. We consider the Eupecora (including several genera without frontal appendages) to be monophyletic. 

The ventral face of the Paulchoffatiinae skull (Multituberculata, Lower Kimmeridgian, Portugal) is new reconstructed. Some details hitherto unknown are added, as the presence of jugals, the structure of the palatine and the extension of the pterygoids. The situation of the m2/ is discussed. Kielanodon hopsoni n. g., n. sp. is erected, known by its upper p3-5/. From Guimarotodon leiriensis the mandible with its dentition is made known. New informations concerning the milk-dentition and the replacement of teeth are also added. 

Sieving and washing of about 700 kg of sediment from the miocene site at Montpeyroux produced otoliths of 34 teleost species, of which four still occur in the present day fauna or are near to extant species. Among the fossil species, eight are new : Ilisha lerichei, «genus Clupeidarum ›› orbiculatus, Dipulus mediterraneus, Morone cornuta, Chanda nelsoni, Pomadasys steurbauti, «genus Sciaenidarum ›› barthassadensis and Paraplagusia roseni. The fauna found is typical for a tropical or subtropical very littoral, probably even estuarine environment; it was living in a period near the boundary between Lower and Middle Miocene, perhaps somewhat earlier. 

The fossil mammals discovered in the quarry of Rians (Sparnacian, Provence) are described. Among these forms, Hyracotherium is interesting because of the little molarization of the lower premolars and its small size, and Diacodexis by its small size and very primitive astragalus ; they may be the most primitive representatives of their respective orders. Also, Proviverra eisenmanni n. sp. is the smallest and most primitive hyaenodontid yet described. Hyopsodus itinerans is the first species of this genus described France. Among other rare fossils is a new species of bat, a small palaeoryctid, and other forms not yet identified. Marsupials are varied. Several new species are present among the rodents. The fauna is well-balanced and rich in small hyopsodontid condylarths. It is stratigraphically situated at the
Dormaal reference-level, at the base of the early Eocene, and is considered equivalent to the late Clarkforkian of North America. The hypothesis is presented that new forms appearing at the beginning of the Wasatchian in North America migrated, in fact, at that time from Europe.