A new gigantic carnivore (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) from the late middle Miocene of France

Serravallian terrestrial vertebrates are very uncommon in the northern margin of the Pyrenean Mountains. A mandible of a new large sized amphicyonid (ca. 200 kg) is here described from the marine deposits of Sallepisse (12.8-12.0 Mya). Despite that this new taxon is close in size to some European am...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2022-06, Vol.10, p.e13457-e13457, Article e13457
Main Authors: Solé, Floréal, Lesport, Jean-François, Heitz, Antoine, Mennecart, Bastien
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphicyonidae
Animals
Carnivora
Carnivora - anatomy & histology
Ecology
Europe
Evolutionary Studies
Fossils
France
Identification and classification
Mandible
Miocene
Natural history
New genera
New species
Paleontology
Phylogeny
Sedimentation & deposition
Sediments
Vertebrates, Fossil
Zoological research
Zoology
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Summary:Serravallian terrestrial vertebrates are very uncommon in the northern margin of the Pyrenean Mountains. A mandible of a new large sized amphicyonid (ca. 200 kg) is here described from the marine deposits of Sallepisse (12.8-12.0 Mya). Despite that this new taxon is close in size to some European amphicyonids from the Miocene (e.g., , , and ), the unique morphology of its p4, unknown in this clade, allows the erection of the new genus nov. gen. & sp. This taxon may be derived from a -type amphicyonine. The description of this new taxon highlights the erosion of the ecological and morphological diversity of the Amphicyonidae in response to well-known Miocene events (i.e., Proboscidean Datum Event, Middle Miocene Climatic Transition, Vallesian Crisis).
ISSN:2167-8359
2167-8359
DOI:10.7717/peerj.13457