Musteloid carnivores from the upper Miocene of South-Western Bulgaria, and the phylogeny of the Mephitidae

Geodiversitas

Nikolaï Spassov¹  Denis Geraads¹ 

关键词: Mammalia;    Carnivora;    Mephitidae;    upper Miocene;    Bulgaria;    Mammalia;    Carnivora;    Mephitidae;    Miocène supérieur;    Bulgarie;   

DOI  :  10.5252/g2016n4a5

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Museum National d Histoire Naturelle

【 摘 要 】

TheupperMiocenesitesofHadjidimovoandKalimantsiinsouthwesternBulgariahaveyieldedfossilsofthreemusteloids:theailuridSimocyonWagner,1858,themustelidPromelesZittel,1890,andseveralskullsofPromephitisGaudry,1861,anEurasianmemberoftheMephitidae.ExtantmephitidsarerepresentedbythreeNewWorldandoneSouth-Asiangenera.PalaeomephitisJäger,1839,MiomephitisDehm,1950,andProputoriusFilhol,1890,fromtheMiddleMioceneofEurope,aswellasseveralAmericanClarendoniantoHemphillian(latemiddletolateMiocene)generahavealsobeenascribedtotheMephitidae.WeshowthatthemephitidstatusofPalaeomephitis,Miomephitis,andProputoriusisdoubtful,andthatthelateMiocenePromephitisisatalowergradeofencephalizationthanmodernMephitidaeandcouldbethesistertaxonofPleistoceneandmodernforms,whichcanbecalledMephitinae.Withinthissubfamily,theAmericanPleistoceneandmoderntaxaformthesistergroupoftheAsianMydausCuvier,1821,whichdisplaysnumerousautapomorphies.Amajor,previouslyunnoticedcharacteristicoftheMephitinaeandPromephitisisthattheirP4lingualcuspisanhypocone,unlikethatoftheClarendonianAmericanforms,inwhichitisaprotocone.ThelattertaxashouldthereforebeexcludedfromtheMephitidae,althoughtheyareprobablycloselyrelated.

【 授权许可】

Unknown