[Mammalogy • 2019] Camera-trap Evidence that the Silver-backed Chevrotain Tragulus versicolor remains in the wild in Vietnam

Tragulus versicolor (Thomas, 1910)

in Nguyen, Tran, Hoang,et al., 2019.

 nature.com/articles/s41559-019-1027-7 

 NatureEcoEvoCommunity.nature.com
 GlobalWildlife.org

Abstract

In an age of mass extinctions, confirming the survival of lost species provides rare second chances for biodiversity conservation. The silver-backed chevrotain Tragulus versicolor, a diminutive species of ungulate known only from Vietnam, has been lost to science for almost three decades. Here, we provide evidence that the silver-backed chevrotain still exists and the first photographs of the species in the wild, and urge immediate conservation actions to ensure its survival.

An Nguyen, Van Bang Tran, Duc Minh Hoang, Thi Anh Minh Nguyen, Dinh Thang Nguyen, Van Tiep Tran, Barney Long, Erik Meijaard, Jeff Holland, Andreas Wilting and Andrew Tilker. 2019. Camera-trap Evidence that the Silver-backed Chevrotain Tragulus versicolor remains in the wild in Vietnam. Nature Ecology & Evolution.   nature.com/articles/s41559-019-1027-7  NatureEcoEvoCommunity.nature.com/u

FOUND: Miniature Fanged ‘Deer’ Rediscovered Tiptoeing Through Vietnam’s Coastal Forests

First-ever Photos and Footage of Silver-backed Chevrotain Confirm First Rediscovery of Lost Mammal on Global Wildlife Conservation’s ‘Most Wanted’ List GlobalWildlife.org/press/found-chevrotain-miniature-fanged-deer-rediscovered-tiptoeing-through-vietnams-coastal-forests/

 globalwildlife.org/web/5288ea84a4ae858b/media-kit--miniature-fanged--deer--rediscovered-tiptoeing-through-vietnam-s-coastal-forests/

 Search for the silver-backed chevrotain NatureEcoEvoCommunity.nature.com/users/324101-andrew-tilker/posts/56070-search-for-the-silver-backed-chevrotain #behindthepaper

Silver-Backed Chevrotain, With Fangs And Hooves, Photographed In Wild For First Time  tinyurl.com/yx86b4wo

Scientists rediscover mammalian oddity in remote Vietnam  news.mongabay.com/2019/11/scientists-rediscover-mammalian-oddity-in-remote-vietnam

  

    

[Mammalogy • 2019] Evidence of Late Survival of Schomburgk's Deer Rucervus schomburgki in Central Laos

 Rucervus schomburgki  (Blyth, 1863)

in Schroering & Galbreath, 2019

 DOI: 10.17087/jbnhs/2019/v116/142873

 news.northwestern.edu 

A 1991 photograph of a Schomburgk's deer's antlers

A rare deer species that lived in central Thailand might have come back from the dead — without the help from sci-fi-like genetic engineering.

Schomburgk’s deer (Rucervus schomburgki) was added to the extinction list in 1938. But new evidence, gleaned from antlers obtained in late 1990 or early 1991, shows that it survived for at least an additional half century and might still be around today.

The research was published last week (Aug. 30 [DOI: 10.17087/jbnhs/2019/v116/142873]) in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Gary Galbreath, professor of biological sciences at Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, was involved in the work.

After the wild population died out from overhunting in 1932, the last known Schomburgk’s deer died in captivity six years later. Or so we thought. A trucker in Laos found a set of antlers, seemingly in fresh condition, in the early 1990s. He then gave the antlers to a shop in the northern Laos province of Phongsali. 

In February 1991, United Nations agronomist Laurent Chazée photographed the antlers. Galbreath and his collaborator G.B. Schroering recently analyzed the antlers’ physical condition in those photos. Based on the widely spreading, basket-shaped, hyper-branched structure of the antlers, the team determined the antlers belonged to a Schomburgk’s deer. (Other Asian deer’s antlers do not have the same signature basket shape.)

Galbreath also confirmed that the antlers were fresh when photographed in 1991. The antlers — spotted with dark red to reddish-brown dried blood — had been excised from the deer’s head. The color of the blood and condition of the exposed bone marrow offered clues into the antlers’ age.

“The relative antiquity of the antler specimens can be assessed by the materials, such as dried marrow, still adhering to them,” said Galbreath, an expert in Asian wildlife. “Even the blood was still reddish; it would become black with increased age. In the tropics, the antlers would not continue to look this way even within a matter of months.”

Before they were listed as “extinct,” the deer were well documented in Thailand. Galbreath believes a small population probably also lived in a remote area in central Laos, where they just might still be living today. 

G. B. Schroering and Gary J. Galbreath. 2019. Evidence of Late Survival of Schomburgk's Deer Rucervus schomburgki in Central Laos. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS). 116. DOI: 10.17087/jbnhs/2019/v116/142873

 news.northwestern.edu/stories/2019/09/evidence-suggests-rare-deer-lived-50-years-beyond-extinction

Evidence suggests rare deer lived 50 years beyond 'extinction' phys.org/news/2019-09-evidence-rare-deer-years-extinction.html via @physorg_com

Giles, F.H. 1937. The riddle of Cervus schomburgki. J. Siam Soc. Nat. Hist. Suppl. 11 (1): 1-34 + 4 pls.

 siamese-heritage.org/nhbsspdf/vol011-020/NHBSS_011_1b_Giles_TheRiddleOfCervus.pdf

[Mammalogy • 2018] Multi-locus Phylogeny of the Tribe Tragelaphini (Mammalia, Bovidae) and Species Delimitation in Bushbuck: Evidence for Chromosomal Speciation Mediated by Interspecific Hybridization

in Hassanin, Houck, Tshikung,et al., 2018. 

 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.08.006  

Highlights

• Two species of bushbuck: Tragelaphus scriptus in NW Africa and T. sylvaticus in SE Africa.

• The two species have 2n = 57M/58F and 2n = 33M/34F chromosomes, respectively.

• T. scriptus is related to T. angasii with mtDNA, and to T. sylvaticus with nuDNA.

 • Mitochondrial introgressive hybridization in the common ancestor of T. scriptus.

• Evidence for chromosomal speciation after an event of interspecific hybridization.

Abstract

The bushbuck is the most widespread bovid species in Africa. Previous mitochondrial studies have revealed a polyphyletic pattern suggesting the possible existence of two distinct species.

To assess this issue, we have sequenced 16 nuclear genes and one mitochondrial fragment (cytochrome b gene + control region) for most species of the tribe Tragelaphini, including seven bushbuck individuals belonging to the two divergent mtDNA haplogroups, Scriptus and Sylvaticus. Our phylogenetic analyses show that the Scriptus lineage is a sister-group of Sylvaticus in the nuclear tree, whereas it is related to Tragelaphus angasii in the mitochondrial tree. This mito-nuclear discordance indicates that the mitochondrial genome of Scriptus was acquired by introgression after one or several past events of hybridization between bushbuck and an extinct species closely related to T. angasii. The division into two bushbuck species is supported by the analyses of nuclear markers and by the karyotype here described for T. scriptus (2n= 57M/58F), which is strikingly distinct from the one previously found for T. sylvaticus (2n= 33M/34F). Molecular dating estimates suggest that the two species separated during the Early Pleistocene after an event of interspecific hybridization, which may have mediated massive chromosomal rearrangements in the common ancestor of T. scriptus.

Keywords: Spiral-horned antelopes, species complex, introgressive hybridization, chromosomes, cytogenetics

Figure 3. Bayesian divergence times (in million years ago, Mya) estimated using the nuclear concatenation of 16 genes (A) or the mitochondrial fragment (B). Divergence times were estimated with BEAST 2.4.7 (see main text for details). Taxa other than Tragelaphini were removed from the figures. Bold values at the nodes are mean ages. Grey bars and values between brackets represent the 95% Highest Posterior Density (HPD) interval.

 Alexandre Hassanin, Marlys L. Houck, Didier Tshikung, Blaise Kadjo, Heidi Davis and Anne Ropiquet. 2018. Multi-locus Phylogeny of the Tribe Tragelaphini (Mammalia, Bovidae) and Species Delimitation in Bushbuck: Evidence for Chromosomal Speciation Mediated by Interspecific Hybridization. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. In Press.  DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.08.006 

[PaleoMammalogy • 2017] The early Miocene Balaenid Morenocetus parvus from Patagonia (Argentina) and the Evolution of Right Whales

 Morenocetus parvus Cabrera, 1926

 Art by Jorge Gonzalez.

in Buono​, Fernández, Cozzuol, et al. 2017 

DOI:  10.7717/peerj.4148 

Abstract

Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales) are a key group in understanding baleen whale evolution, because they are the oldest surviving lineage of crown Mysticeti, with a fossil record that dates back ∼20 million years. However, this record is mostly Pliocene and younger, with most of the Miocene history of the clade remaining practically unknown. The earliest recognized balaenid is the early Miocene Morenocetus parvus Cabrera, 1926 from Argentina. M. parvus was originally briefly described from two incomplete crania, a mandible and some cervical vertebrae collected from the lower Miocene Gaiman Formation of Patagonia. Since then it has not been revised, thus remaining a frequently cited yet enigmatic fossil cetacean with great potential for shedding light on the early history of crown Mysticeti. Here we provide a detailed morphological description of this taxon and revisit its phylogenetic position. The phylogenetic analysis recovered the middle Miocene Peripolocetus as the earliest diverging balaenid, and Morenocetus as the sister taxon of all other balaenids. The analysis of cranial and periotic morphology of Morenocetus suggest that some of the specialized morphological traits of modern balaenids were acquired by the early Miocene and have remained essentially unchanged up to the present. Throughout balaenid evolution, morphological changes in skull arching and ventral displacement of the orbits appear to be coupled and functionally linked to mitigating a reduction of the field of vision. The body length of Morenocetus and other extinct balaenids was estimated and the evolution of body size in Balaenidae was reconstructed. Optimization of body length on our phylogeny of Balaenidae suggests that the primitive condition was a relatively small body length represented by Morenocetus, and that gigantism has been acquired independently at least twice (in Balaena mysticetus and Eubalaena spp.), with the earliest occurrence of this trait in the late Miocene–early Pliocene as represented by Eubalaena shinshuensis.

Figure 13: Reconstructions of balaenid crania in left lateral view, showing relative position of the orbit and eyeball (in blue) with arching of the rostrum. (A) Morenocetus parvus. (B) Balaenella brachyrhynus. (C) Eubalaena australis. The rostrum in (B) is depicted as preserved in the original specimen.

Figure 15: Artistic restoration of Morenocetus parvus in life. 

Art by Jorge Gonzalez. 

Systematic palaeontology

Cetacea Brisson, 1762

Neoceti Fordyce & Muizon, 2001

Mysticeti Gray, 1864 sensu Cope, 1869

Chaeomysticeti Mitchell, 1989

Balaenidae Gray, 1825

Morenocetus Cabrera, 1926

Type species by monotypy: Morenocetus parvus Cabrera, 1926.

....

Mónica R. Buono​, Marta S. Fernández, Mario A. Cozzuol, José I. Cuitiño and Erich M.G. Fitzgerald. 2017. The early Miocene Balaenid Morenocetus parvus from Patagonia (Argentina) and the Evolution of Right Whales.  PeerJ. 5:e4148.  DOI:  10.7717/peerj.4148

[PaleoMammalogy • 2016] Protovis himalayensis • An Early Sheep from the Pliocene of Tibet, (Bovidae, Caprini), and Origin of Ice Age Mountain Sheep

Fig. 2 Map of extinct and extant species of Ovis in Eurasia and their evolutionary relationships.

Image by WANG Xiaoming   english.cas.cn

ABSTRACT

Modern wild sheep, Ovis, is widespread in the mountain ranges of the Caucasus through Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau, Tianshan-Altai, eastern Siberia, and the Rocky Mountains in North America. In Eurasia, fossil sheep are known at a few Pleistocene sites in North China, eastern Siberia, and western Europe, but are so far absent from the Tibetan Plateau. We describe an extinct sheep, Protovis himalayensis, gen. et sp. nov., from the Pliocene of the Zanda Basin in western Himalaya. Smaller than the living argali, this new form shares with Ovis posterolaterally arched horncores and partially developed sinuses and possesses several transitional characters leading to Ovis. Protovis likely subsisted on C3 plants, which are the dominant vegetation in the Zanda area during the Pliocene. With the discovery of this new genus and species, we extend the fossil record for the sheep clade into the Pliocene of the Tibetan Plateau, consistent with our previous out-of-Tibet hypothesis. Ancestral sheep in the Pliocene were presumed adapted to high altitude and cold environments, and during the Ice Age, sheep became anatomically modern and dispersed outside of the Tibetan Plateau. Both this new fossil datum and the existing molecular phylogeny suggest that the Tibetan Plateau, possibly including Tianshan-Altai, represents the ancestral home range(s) of mountain sheep and that these basal stocks were the ultimate source of all extant species. Most sheep species survived along their Pleistocene route of dispersal, offering a highly consistent pattern of zoogeography.

Fig.1 Holotype of Protovis himalayensis, in frontal-lateral view (A) and dorsal view of horncores (B), and cross-sectional shapes at four intervals along left horn

Image by WANG Xiaoming  english.cas.cn

Fig. 3 Artist reconstruction of a male Zanda sheep, Protovis himalayensis, placed in a modern Zanda basement outcrop that was widely exposed during basin formation. 

Art by Julie Selan and photo background by WANG Xiaoming  english.cas.cn

Xiaoming Wang, Qiang Li and Gary T. Takeuchi. 2016. Out of Tibet: An Early Sheep from the Pliocene of Tibet, Protovis himalayensis, genus and species nov. (Bovidae, Caprini), and Origin of Ice Age Mountain Sheep. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.   DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1169190

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F2AEE746-0A5B-4F40-89B7-8EF0C04F21FD

New Species from the Pliocene of Tibet Reveals Origin of Ice Age Mountain Sheep

Modern wild sheep, Ovis, is widespread in the mountain ranges of the Caucasus through Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau, Tianshan-Altai, eastern Siberia, and the Rocky Mountains in North America. In Eurasia, fossil sheep are known by a few isolated records at a few Pleistocene sites in North China, eastern Siberia, and western Europe, but are so far absent from the Tibetan Plateau.

In a paper published May 4 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, paleontologists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and La Brea Tar Pits and Museum at Los Angeles reported a new genus and species of fossil sheep from the Pliocene of Zanda Basin in Tibet. This finding extends the fossil record for the sheep into the Pliocene of the Tibetan Plateau, suggesting that the Tibetan Plateau, possibly including Tianshan-Altai, represents the ancestral home range(s) of mountain sheep and that these basal stocks were the ultimate source of all extant species, which is consistent with the Out-of-Tibet hypothesis regarding the origins of Ice Age megaherbivores.

New fossil materials were collected from IVPP locality ZD0712 in Guanjingtai, Zanda County, Tibetan Autonomous Region in western Himalaya during the 2006 and 2007 field seasons. The holotype specimen (IVPP V18928), forming the main basis of this new species, is a nearly complete male left and right horncores. With a total horncore upper curve length of 443 mm, it is similar in size to some extant species of Ovis.

This new extinct sheep, Protovis himalayensis, has a combination of features distinguishable from other species such as Ovis, Pseudois and Tossunnoria. Smaller than the living argali, it shares with Ovis posterolaterally arched horncores and partially developed sinuses and possesses several transitional characters leading to Ovis.

........

http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/201605/t20160511_162948.shtml

New species from the Pliocene of Tibet reveals origin of Ice Age mountain sheep http://phy.so/382171822 via @physorg_com

[PaleoMammalogy • 2016] Unexpected Convergent Evolution of Nasal Domes between Pleistocene Bovids, Rusingoryx atopocranion, and Cretaceous Hadrosaur Dinosaurs

Highlights

• Pleistocene Rusingoryx atopocranion are first known mammals with hollow nasal crests

• Rusingoryx ontogeny and evolution are broadly similar to lambeosaurine hadrosaurs

• The best-supported nasal crest function is phonic modification

• Combination of convergent ontogeny, evolution, and function may explain crest rarity

Summary

The fossil record provides tangible, historical evidence for the mode and operation of evolution across deep time. Striking patterns of convergence are some of the strongest examples of these operations, whereby, over time, similar environmental and/or behavioral pressures precipitate similarity in form and function between disparately related taxa. Here we present fossil evidence for an unexpected convergence between gregarious plant-eating mammals and dinosaurs. Recent excavations of Late Pleistocene deposits on Rusinga Island, Kenya, have uncovered a catastrophic assemblage of the wildebeest-like bovid Rusingoryx atopocranion. Previously known from fragmentary material, these new specimens reveal large, hollow, osseous nasal crests: a craniofacial novelty for mammals that is remarkably comparable to the nasal crests of lambeosaurine hadrosaur dinosaurs. Using adult and juvenile material from this assemblage, as well as computed tomographic imaging, we investigate this convergence from morphological, developmental, functional, and paleoenvironmental perspectives. Our detailed analyses reveal broad parallels between R. atopocranion and basal Lambeosaurinae, suggesting that osseous nasal crests may require a highly specific combination of ontogeny, evolution, and environmental pressures in order to develop.

An artist's interpretation of Rusingoryx atopocranion on the Late Pleistocene plains of what is now Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria. Scientists have found many links between Rusingoryx and hadrosaur dinosaurs -- particularly the large, hollow dome that makes a crest on top of the animal's skull.

illustration: Todd S. Marshall marshalls-art.com

Haley D. O’Brien, J. Tyler Faith, Kirsten E. Jenkins, Daniel J. Peppe, Thomas W. Plummer, Zenobia L. Jacobs, Bo Li, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Gilbert Price, Yue-xing Feng and Christian A. Tryon. 2016. Unexpected Convergent Evolution of Nasal Domes between Pleistocene Bovids and Cretaceous Hadrosaur Dinosaurs. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.050

Ancient wildebeest-like animal shared 'bizarre' feature with dinosaur http://phy.so/373788929 via  @physorg_com

Ancient wildebeest-like animal had bizarre nose like dinosaur http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-05/ancient-wildebeest-like-creature-had-a-dinosaur-nose/7139440 via @ABCNews

J. Tyler Faith, Jonah N. Choiniere, Christian A. Tryon, Daniel J. Peppe and David L. Fox. 2010. Taxonomic status and paleoecology of Rusingoryx atopocranion (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), an extinct Pleistocene bovid from Rusinga Island, Kenya. Quaternary Research. 75(3); 697–707. DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2010.11.006

[PaleoMammalogy • 2015] Xenokeryx amidalae • Systematics and Evolution of the Miocene Three-Horned Palaeomerycid Ruminants (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla)

Fig 10. Life reconstruction of the head of Xenokeryx amidalae gen. et sp. nov. Adult male based on the fossils from La Retama.

 Illustrations by Israel M. Sánchez. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143034

Abstract

Palaeomerycids were strange three-horned Eurasian Miocene ruminants known through fossils from Spain to China. We here study their systematics, offering the first cladistic phylogeny of the best-known species of the group, and also reassess their phylogenetic position among ruminants, which is currently disputed. The beautifully preserved remains of a new palaeomerycid from middle Miocene deposits of Spain, Xenokeryx amidalae gen. et sp. nov., helps us to better understand palaeomerycid anatomy, especially that of the nuchal region in the skull, significantly improving our current knowledge on these enigmatic ruminants. Our results show two main lineages of palaeomerycids, one containing the genus Ampelomeryx diagnosed by a characteristic type of cranium / cranial appendages and some dental derived traits, and another one that clusters those forms more closely related to Triceromeryx than to Ampelomeryx, characterized by a more derived dentition and a set of apomorphic cranial features. Xenokeryx branches as a basal offshoot of this clade. Also, we find that Eurasian palaeomerycids are not closely related to North American dromomerycids, thus rejecting the currently more accepted view of palaeomerycids as the Eurasian part of the dromomerycid lineage. Instead of this, palaeomerycids are nested with the African Miocene pecoran Propalaeoryx and with giraffoids. On the other hand, dromomerycids are closely related to cervids. We define a clade Giraffomorpha that includes palaeomerycids and giraffids, and propose an emended diagnosis of the Palaeomerycidae based on cranial and postcranial characters, including several features of the cranium not described so far. We also define the Palaeomerycidae as the least inclusive clade of pecorans containing Triceromeryx and Ampelomeryx. Finally, we reassess the taxonomy of several palaeomerycid taxa.

Systematic Palaeontology

MAMMALIA Linnaeus, 1758

CETARTIODACTYLA Montgelard, Catzeflis and Douzery, 1997

RUMINANTIA Scopoli, 1777

PECORA sensu Webb and Taylor, 1980

PALAEOMERYCIDAE Lydekker, 1883

Fig 11. Evolution of palaeomerycids. Summary scheme showing a calibrated phylogeny of palaeomerycids (based on the corresponding MPT) with special emphasis on the main morphological traits of each basal clade (Ampelomeryx-clade and Triceromeryx-clade represented by reconstructions of Ampelomeryx and Xenokeryx) including their biogeographic distribution.

 Illustrations by Israel M. Sánchez.  DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143034

Genus Xenokeryx nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:BF7F79F9-6752-4CD2-8022-64C5F5790D57

Etymology: Xenos, greek for strange, keryx referring to horn. Meaning ‘strange horn’.

Diagnosis: T-shaped upright occipital appendage with well-developed pedicle and downwards-oriented branch tips; very faint longitudinal crests in the posterior face of the occipital appendage; ulna distally fused to radius; short palmar extension of the facet for the semilunate in the radius; straight disto-lateral border of the distal trochlea in the astragalus, showing no notch; distal articulation facet of the first phalanx not extended into the flexor area.

Xenokeryx amidalae sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9B119A4F-AB1F-4077-A6F6-31981F294A64

Synonyms: Triceromeryx conquensis, nomen nudum (in ref. [69], p. 63, 88);
Triceromeryx conquensis, nomen nudum (in ref. [70], p. 117);
Triceromeryx sp. nov. (in ref. [41], p. 257)

Etymology: Referred to the fictional character Padme Amidala from Star Wars, due to the striking resemblance that the occipital appendage of Xenokeryx bears to one of the hairstyles that the aforementioned character shows in The Phantom Menace feature film.

Conclusions

We here present a new (albeit limited) phylogenetic analysis of the pecoran ruminants, with an emphasis on fossil forms and morphology, but also incorporating molecular data. A new palaeomerycid here described, Xenokeryx amidalae gen. et sp. nov. from the middle Miocene of Spain, helps to reinterpret and understand the morphological evolution and phylogenetic relationships of the group. Despite their apparent external similarities, Eurasian palaeomerycids are not related with North American dromomerycids. Instead, they belong in the clade that also contains the giraffes besides several extinct groups. We name this clade the Giraffomorpha. Among giraffomorphs, the early Miocene African pecoran Propalaeoryx is the closest sister group to palaeomerycids. On the other hand, dromomerycids are very closely related to cervids.

There are two main lineages of palaeomerycids. One of them, the Ampelomeryx-clade, is characterized by a well-developed Palaeomeryx-fold and several other dental derived characters (although they retain a relatively primitive dentition), sloped not pneumatized flat ossicones and flattish and variably sized occipital appendage. The other one, the Triceromeryx-clade, is characterized by its more derived dentition, upright cylindrical pneumatized ossicones, and a great diversity of occipital appendages.

This study focused mainly on the systematics of several extinct clades (palaeomerycids, dromomerycids and their respective allies). Future ruminant research will benefit from total-evidence phylogenetic methods (e.g. Bayesian tip-dating analysis used here) for combining fossil and living taxa, morphological and molecular datasets, and fossil ages. The inclusion of more living and fossil lineages in larger datasets will be decisive to further testing our findings and conclusions.

Israel M. Sánchez, Juan L. Cantalapiedra, María Ríos, Victoria Quiralte and Jorge Morales. 2015. Systematics and Evolution of the Miocene Three-Horned Palaeomerycid Ruminants (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla). PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143034

Xenokeryx amidalae: Strange 'Padme Amidala' ruminant discovered in Spain is extinct ancestor of giraffes http://ibt.uk/A006QP0 via @IBTimesUK #StarWars

[PaleoMammalogy • 2014] Anthracotheres from Wadi Moghra, early Miocene, Egypt; Jaggermeryx naida, Afromeryx grex & A. palustris

 Jaggermeryx naida

Top and side views of a fossilized jaw bone of an ancient creature recently named after Mick Jagger, in honor of the animal's big, sensitive lips and snout. The animal's jaw bones suggest it was roughly the size of a small deer.
Photo: Gregg Gunnell, Duke Lemur Center | DOI: 10.1666/13-122

Abstract

The early Miocene site of Wadi Moghra, Qattara Depression, Egypt, is important for interpreting anthracothere (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) evolution, because the Moghra sediments preserve a higher diversity of anthracotheres than any other pene-contemporaneous site. New specimens from Moghra are described and form the basis for the systematic revision of Moghra anthracotheres provided here. Among the important discoveries recently made at Moghra is the first complete skull of Sivameryx moneyi. Other new specimens described here include two new species of Afromeryx, and a new genus and species, all of which are unique to Moghra. A review of biogeographic information supports the conclusion that three of the Moghra anthracotheres (Brachyodus depereti, B. mogharensis, and Jaggermeryx naida, n. gen. n. sp.) are members of late surviving lineages with a long history in Africa, while three other species (Afromeryx grex, n. sp., A. palustris, n. sp., and Sivameryx moneyi) represent more recent immigrants from Eurasia.

Ellen R. Miller, Gregg F. Gunnell, Mohamed Abdel Gawad, Mohamed Hamdan, Ahmed N. El-Barkooky, Mark T. Clementz and Safiya M. Hassan. 2014. Anthracotheres from Wadi Moghra, early Miocene, Egypt. Journal of Paleontology. 88(5); 967-981.  DOI: 10.1666/13-122

UW Researcher Contributes to Discovery of Mick Jagger-Like Swamp Creature

http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2014/09/uw-researcher-contributes-to-discovery-of-mick-jagger-like-swamp-creature.html

Ancient swamp creature had lips like Mick Jagger

A swamp-dwelling, plant-munching creature that lived 19 million years ago in Africa has been named after Rolling Stones lead singer Sir Mick Jagger, because of its big, sensitive lips and snout. The name of the animal, Jaggermeryx naida, translates to 'Jagger's water nymph.'

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140910120432.htm

[PaleoMammalogy • 2014] Lagomeryx manai • Systematics and Phylogeny of middle Miocene Cervidae (Mammalia) from Mae Moh Basin (Thailand) and a Paleoenvironmental Estimate using Enamel Isotopy of Sympatric Herbivore Species

Lagomeryx manai

Suraprasit, Chaimanee,  Bocherens, Chavasseau & Jaeger 2014

illustration: Pattnapong Pansi

Abstract

The primitive deer (subfamily Lagomerycinae) Lagomeryx and Stephanocemas are characterized primarily by their palmate antlers. Two lagomerycines, Lagomeryx manai, sp. nov., and Stephanocemas rucha, are described for the first time from Q and K coal layers of the late middle Miocene (13.4–13.2 Ma) Mae Moh Basin in northern Thailand. A species-level phylogeny of the Ligeromeryx-Lagomeryx clade, based on cranial appendages, reconstructs Lagomeryx manai, n. sp., as a derived species of Lagomeryx, sister group of Lagomeryx complicidens. This study suggests that the large species of Lagomeryx are restricted geographically to Asia and dispersed to Southeast Asia at the latest during late middle Miocene, where they are represented by Lagomeryx manai, n. sp. The paleoenvironmental studies of five Mae Moh mammalian taxa, a cervid (Lagomeryx manai, n. sp.), an indeterminate bovid, a suid (Conohyus thailandicus), a rhinoceros (Gaindatherium sp.), and a proboscidean (Stegolophodon sp.), investigated with stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of tooth enamel, indicate that the Mae Moh mammals inhabited a wide range of habitats from woodlands to grasslands in a C3-plant-dominated environment. The new species of Lagomeryx seems to have been living in an open environment, contrary to its European relatives. The serial isotopic samples also support that Mae Moh herbivores probably lived in a low-seasonal climate during the late middle Miocene of northern Thailand.

Lagomeryx manaireconstruction by Namosaurus

Kantapon Suraprasit, Yaowalak Chaimanee, Herve Bocherens, Olivier Chavasseau & Jean-Jacques Jaeger. 2014. Systematics and Phylogeny of middle Miocene Cervidae (Mammalia) from Mae Moh Basin (Thailand) and a Paleoenvironmental Estimate using Enamel Isotopy of Sympatric Herbivore Species.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34:1, 179-194. 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2013.789038

The Cervidae from the Middle Miocene of  Mae Moh (Thailand): Systematic, Phylogeny, and Paleoenvironments 

http://sfa.univ-poitiers.fr/master-paleontologie/images/sujets-stages-M2-2010/Kantapon%20Suraprasit.pdf

facebook: Dom Paleoworld

[News • 2013] New populations of Indochina’s Rarest Deer, Endangered Hog Deer Axis porcinus annamiticus (or Hyelaphus annamiticus), discovered in Cambodia

New populations of Indochina’s rarest deer discovered in Cambodia

Surveys confirm three populations of the Endangered hog deer in Cambodia

A joint team from the Royal University of Phnom Penh’s Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (CBC) and Fauna & Flora International (FFI) have found three previously unknown populations of the Endangered hog deer in Cambodia.

The hog deer, today listed as Endangered on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, once ranged throughout large areas of South and mainland Southeast Asia, but has suffered regional population decimations due to hunting, habitat loss and degradation. Cambodia is home to the only known wild populations of the Axis porcinus annamiticus (or Hyelaphus annamiticus) subspecies of the deer.

A field team, funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, conducted interview surveys in local villages, following up on hog deer reports with rapid field surveys looking for tracks or dung.

...........

http://www.fauna-flora.org/news/new-populations-of-indochina’s-rarest-deer-discovered-in-cambodia/

[Mammalogy • 1999] Muntiacus putaoensis เก้งแคระ | Leaf Deer, Leaf Muntjac • A New Species of Muntjac from northern Myanmar

เก้งแคระ

 Muntiacus putaoensis • Leaf Deer, Leaf Muntjac

• new Species from northern Myanmar

Abstract

 In May 1998, an expedition into northern Myanmar obtained detailed descriptive data on a new species of muntjac called the leaf deer, first discovered on a survey the previous year and characterized primarily by its diagnostic DNA compared to other muntjac species. Weights, measurements, and physical data were obtained from 12 freshly killed leaf deer, along with partial measurements from 90 head pieces of leaf deer found in village huts. Except for the diminutive, unbranched antlers on males, averaging 3.2 cm long, older male and female leaf deer were similar in size and appearance, with average weights of 12.1 kg and 11.8 kgfor males and females, respectively. When compared with other species, leaf deer are one of the smallest,and perhaps one of the most primitive, extant muntjacs. Two of the most distinguishing characteristics of this new species are the relatively long, equal-sized canines in both older adult males (average 2.4 cm long) and older adult females (average 2.2 cm long), and the lack of spotting on the coats of a newborn and two juveniles estimated to be < 2 months old. All older males (n = 3) and 40% of older females (n = 5) had healed wounds on one or both ears. These wounds, in addition to the large canines in both sexes, may indicate that females as well as males compete actively for resources. Although still relatively abundant throughout mid-elevation dense evergreen forests, between the northern extremities of the Mai Kha and Mali Kha Rivers in north Myanmar, the currently known distribution of the leaf deer is outside any protected areas. Persistent hunting by local people with snares, dogs, and crossbows for a thriving market trade in deer leather, have caused noticeable decreases in numbers of leaf deer captured over recent yearsand could threaten the future survival of this new species.

Key words: muntjac, leaf deer, Muntiacus putaoensis, Myanmar

Rabinowitz, AR; T. Myint; ST Khaing & S Rabinowitz (1999) Description of the Leaf Deer (Muntiacus putaoensis), a new species of muntjac from northern Myanmar. J. Zool. 249:427-435: DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb01212.x
researchgate.net/publication/227670563_A_new_species_of_muntjac_Muntiacus_putaoensis_%28Artiodactyla_Cervidae%29_from_northern_Myanmar

Datta, A;J Pansa; MD Madhusudan & C Mishra (2003) Discovery of the Leaf Deer (Muntiacus putaoensis) in Arunachal Pradesh: an addition to the large mammals of India. Current Science. 84:454-458:

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/feb102003/454.pdf

Photos: hundreds of new species discovered in Himalayan region, threatened by climate changehttp://t.co/mOGP0fS via @mongabay

WWF - Flying frog among hundreds of new species discovered in Eastern Himalayas: http://bit.ly/jjXSAf via @WWF