[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Speleotherium logani • Logan's Austral Scrubox, A New ovibovine (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from Muskox Cave, Eddy County, New Mexico

Speleotherium logani

White, Mead & Morgan, 2025

 Logan's Austral Scrubox  ||  Researchgate.net/publication/396444548

Artwork by Lloyd E. Logan

Abstract 

We here describe a new genus and species of ovibovine artiodactyl, Speleotherium logani, (Logan’s austral scrubox) from Muskox Cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, southeastern New Mexico, which has languished unrecognized since its collection in 1976. Speleotherium is one of the few new genera of Rancholabrean age (late Pleistocene) large mammals from temperate North America to be described in nearly a century. S. logani is characterized by having the skull with the horn cores nearly circular in cross section and projecting laterally from the frontal, directed slightly posteriorly, and curved slightly dorsally at their tips. The bases of the horn cores are enlarged dorsally and project medially to form a boss which does not extend to the midline of the skull. Among living and extinct bovids, the horn cores of Speleotherium are most similar to those of the muskox, Ovibos moschatus, and are very different from the horn cores of Euceratherium, an extinct genus of ovibovine from the late Pleistocene of North America to which the Muskox Cave bovid has been previously referred. The new species has the smallest tooth row length and metapodial size of the known North American ovibovines. S. logani has the most southern distribution of Pleistocene ovibovines in North America, with records from southern New Mexico, the states of Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí in Mexico, and Belize.

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY 

Artiodactyla Owen, 1848 

 Bovidae Gray, 1821 

Caprinae Gray, 1821 

Ovibovini Gill, 1872 

Speleotherium new genus 

Speleotherium logani new species

Etymology: Speleotherium from the Greek speos for ‘cave’ and therion for ‘beast’. Specific epithet in honor of Lloyd E. Logan who led the work in Muskox Cave in 1976 and 1977. Our preferred common name for this taxon is Logan’s austral scrubox. We prefer the term “scrub”, as it refers to a vegetation community, while “shrub” references a single individual plant. 

Richard S. White, Jim I. Mead and Gary S. Morgan. 2025. Logan's Austral Scrubox, A New ovibovine (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from Muskox Cave, Eddy County, New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 101: 473–494. [October 2025]

 Researchgate.net/publication/396444548_a_new_ovibovine_Bovidae_from_Muskox_Cave_Eddy_County_New_Mexico_New_Mexico

 

[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Qilin tungurensis • A New Giraffe Ossicone from Wolf Camp, Tunggur Formation, Inner Mongolia suggests A New Genus in Bohlinini (Artiodactyla: Giraffidae)

  

Qilin new genus
Qilin tungurensis Colbert, 1936.

Artist reconstructions of Qilin tungurensis:

An adult male (right) and younger males (middle and left) with less developed ossicones. Note females did not have ossicones in the early-middle Miocene. 

in Wang, Solounias, Hou, Li et Tomida, 2025. 

   DOI: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328405

Art by Ville Sinkkonen.

Abstract

The classic Middle Miocene Wolf Camp locality discovered in 1930 by the Third Asiatic Expeditions of the American Museum of Natural History has been long known to produce an extinct giraffe, Palaeotragus tungurensis Colbert, 1936. Its dental and limb morphology offers tantalizing clues to a close relationship to the living giraffe, Giraffa. Its ossicone, a key part of the giraffe anatomy, is unknown since its initial description. Our discovery, in 2011, of an almost perfectly preserved ossicone from Wolf Camp thus fills this void and is described herein. Novel morphology of the ossicone, unlike any known so far, warrants a new generic name, Qilin, and Q. tungurensis adds important evidence that this Middle Miocene record from Inner Mongolia represents a key taxon in the evolution of the subfamily Giraffinae. Ossicone morphology is fundamentally similar to that of living Giraffa as well as members of Bohlinini. Dentally, Q. tungurensis also strongly supports its membership within Bohlinini with a unique shared derived character of P2-3 para- and metastyles bending inward to mesostyle. Q. tungurensis possesses a slender limb and a modestly deep trough on the posterior surface of the metacarpals that also suggest membership in Bohlinini. Combined with knowledge about its dental and limb morphology, the new Wolf Camp ossicone indicates an important stage of giraffine evolution, and contributes to a better understanding of its chronology and zoogeography.

Systematic paleontology

Order Artiodactyla Owen, 1848  

Suborder Ruminantia Scopoli, 1777  

Infraorder Pecora Linnaeus, 1758 

Superfamily Giraffoidea Gray, 1821

Family Giraffidae Gray, 1821 

Subfamily Giraffinae Gray, 1821  

Included tribes: Giraffini Gray, 1821 (living giraffe and its relatives) and extinct Bohlinini Solounias, 2007.

Qilin tungurensis, IVPP V 33851, right juvenile male ossicone from IVPP locality IM1118, lower part of Wolf Camp section.
 (A) right lateral view; (B) medial view, black arrows indicating natural break before the ossicones were glued back together (see D); (C) ventral (proximal) view; and (D) dorsal view before the upper shaft was glued (black arrows in A and B showing location of the break), showing oval cross-section at mid shaft.

Artist reconstructions of Qilin tungurensis:
An adult male (right) and younger males (middle and left) with less developed ossicones. Note females did not have ossicones in the early-middle Miocene. Art by Ville Sinkkonen.

Qilin new genus

Type species: Palaeotragus tungurensis Colbert, 1936.

Included species: Type species and an undescribed species from the Siwaliks of Pakistan [Solounias & Danowitz, 2025].

Diagnosis: Thin and slender metacarpal with a deep posterior groove; premolar parastyles and metastyles prominent and bending inward; ossicone with an upright shaft, curving inward (medially), expanded tip and a slight constriction below the tip, and a greatly expanded posterior flange with surface bumps.

Etymology: Qilin, Chinese Pinyin spelling for 麒麟, a mythical creature in ancient Chinese texts with a deer body, cow tail, and single (or paired) antler with fleshy tip; Qilin was invoked as an approximate transliteration for Somali word “geri” for giraffe when the Ming dynasty maritime expedition to Africa brought two giraffes to Beijing in 1414 A.D. 麒麟 as giraffe is still used in Korean Hanja and Japanese Kanji writing systems, as well as in early Chinese scientific literatures as a common name for “giraffe deer family” (麒麟鹿科), such as in the Chinese abstract of Bohlin [Bohlin, 1927].

 

Xiaoming Wang, Nikos Solounias, Su-kuan Hou, Lu Li and Yukimitsu Tomida. 2025.  A New Giraffe Ossicone from Wolf Camp, Tunggur Formation, Inner Mongolia suggests A New Genus in Bohlinini (Artiodactyla, Giraffidae). PLoS One. 20(8): e0328405. DOI: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328405

[PaleoMammalogy • 2023] Tavridia gromovi • A New Antelope (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave in the Crimea

 Tavridia gromovi 

Vislobokova, 2023

 DOI: doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123040147 

наука.рф/news/

Abstract

A new form of small antelope is described from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave in the Crimea. A new genus and species Tavridia gromovi is identified from a fragment of the skull roof with a horn core and the lower jaw. This small antelope differed from all known forms in the morphological features of the horn cores and the dental system. Based on the combination of characters, it is assigned to the tribe Antilopini (Eurasia and Africa, Middle Miocene to Recent). The discovery of T. gromovi in the Crimea testifies to the significant diversity of this group of antelopes in the middle of the Early Pleistocene.

Keywords: Tavridia gromovi gen. et sp. nov., Antilopini, Early Pleistocene, the Crimea, Taurida Cave

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

Family Bovidae Gray, 1821

Subfamily Antilopinae Gray, 1821

Tribe Antilopini Gray, 1821

Genus Tavridia Vislobokova, gen. nov.

Etymology. From the Taurida Cave locality.

 

Tavridia gromovi Vislobokova, sp. nov.

Etymology. Named in honor of V.I. Gromov, the outstanding Russian researcher of the Quaternary.

 

I. A. Vislobokova. 2023. A New Antelope Tavridia gromovi gen. et sp. nov. (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave in the Crimea. Paleontological Journal. 57; 463–472.  DOI: doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123040147 

 

НАЙДЕННУЮ В КРЫМУ ДРЕВНЮЮ АНТИЛОПУ НАЗВАЛИ В ЧЕСТЬ ТАВРИДЫ

https://xn--80aa3ak5a.xn--p1ai/news/novuyu-gazelepodobnuyu-antilopu-nashli-v-krymu/

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] The Postcranial Skeleton of Amphimoschus Bourgeois, 1873 (Cetartiodactyla: Ruminantia: Pecora) sheds light on Its Phylogeny and the Evolution of the clade Cervoidea

 Amphimoschus, autopodial morphology and palaeoecological implications

in Sánchez, Cantalapiedra, DeMiguel, Azanza, Strani et Morales, 2024. 

DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2024.2386020  

Art by Flavia Strani.

Abstract

Here we present the first description of the postcranial skeleton of Amphimoschus, an enigmatic hornless ruminant known from the late Early to the late Middle Miocene of Eurasia (c. 17.5–13.8 Ma). This new fossil material that includes several elements of the appendicular skeleton comes from the French sites of Pontlevoy (MN5), Aérotrain (MN4), and Artenay (MN4). The postcranial skeleton of Amphimoschus is relevant to determine its phylogenetic affinities within the Pecora and to better understand the evolution of cervoids, the pecoran ruminants more closely related to deer. Our total-evidence tip-dating phylogenetic analysis recovers three well-supported main lineages of crown pecorans (Giraffomorpha, Bovidomorpha and Cervidomorpha) and places Amphimoschus as a basal member of a monophyletic Cervoidea. Thus, we reject the recent assignment of Amphimoschus to the Bovoidea, and confirm the presence of hornless forms at the base of the cervoid clade. We define the Cervoidea as the least inclusive clade of crown pecorans including Amphimoschus and the Cervidae. We also define the Cervidomorpha as the least inclusive clade of crown pecorans containing Namibiomeryx and the Cervidae. Cervidomorphs were relatively successful in the Miocene, spreading through Africa, Eurasia and North America during the Early–Middle Miocene. Amphimoschus xishuiensis Y.-K. Li et al., 2021 is recovered here as the closest sister group to the Bovidae and hence cannot be considered to belong to the genus Amphimoschus. We erect for it the new genus Dimidiomeryx. Our topology adds complexity to the recently revamped hypothesis based on molecular data regarding the single origin of the cranial appendages in pecoran ruminants. Amphimoschus probably had a sitatunga-like lifestyle, sporting sprawling-out fingers with very long third phalanges, long limbs and a general configuration of the appendicular skeleton that probably allowed it to live in swampy/semiaquatic environments.

Keywords: body size, Cervoidea, headgear, Ruminantia, phylogeny, Miocene

 

 Amphimoschus, autopodial morphology and palaeoecological implications. A, composite articulated right anterior autopodium of Amphimoschus from Artenay (right digit mirrored from the single preserved one) showing the c. 34° angle formed by Amphimoschus digits (similar to extant Moschus), with digits in neutral articulation position and the collateral ligaments (marked in green) showing the vector of their action (green arrows); B, reconstruction of an adult male Amphimoschus in its postulated habitat; C, detail of Amphimoschus left manus and right pes showing the elongated sitatunga-like main hooves and the flat stance of the digits III–IV against the ground.

Art by Flavia Strani.

Israel M. Sánchez, Juan L. Cantalapiedra, Daniel DeMiguel, Beatriz Azanza, Flavia Strani and Jorge Morales. 2024. The Postcranial Skeleton of Amphimoschus Bourgeois, 1873 (Cetartiodactyla, Ruminantia, Pecora) sheds light on Its Phylogeny and the Evolution of the clade Cervoidea. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 22(1);  2386020. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2024.2386020  

  x.com/FlaviaStrani/status/1838203238048239701

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Fucaia humilis • The Oldest mysticete (Mysticeti: Aetiocetidae) in the Northern Hemisphere

Fucaia humilis 

 Tsai, Goedert & Boessenecker, 2024

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.011 

 twitter.com/TSAI_NTU508

Highlights: 

• A new fossil mysticete is described from Washington State, USA

• This fossil represents the oldest known mysticete from the Northern Hemisphere

• The small body size contrasts with larger coeval whales in the Southern Hemisphere

• The coastal kelp ecosystem likely fostered the diversification of early whales

Summary

Extant baleen whales (Mysticeti) uniquely use keratinous baleen for filter-feeding and lack dentition, but the fossil record clearly shows that “toothed” baleen whales first appeared in the Late Eocene.1 Globally, only two Eocene mysticetes have been found, and both are from the Southern Hemisphere: Mystacodon selenensis from Peru, 36.4 mega-annum (Ma) ago and Llanocetus denticrenatus from Antarctica, 34.2 Ma ago. Based on a partial skull from the lower part of the Lincoln Creek Formation in Washington State, USA, we describe the Northern Hemisphere’s geochronologically earliest mysticete, Fucaia humilis sp. nov. Geology, biostratigraphy, and magnetostratigraphy places Fucaia humilis sp. nov. in the latest Eocene (ca. 34.5 Ma ago, near the Eocene/Oligocene transition at 33.9 Ma ago), approximately coeval with the oldest record of fossil kelps, also in the northeastern Pacific.5 This observation leads to our hypothesis that the origin and development of a relatively stable, nutrient-rich kelp ecosystem5,6 in the latest Eocene may have fostered the radiation of small-sized toothed mysticetes (Family Aetiocetidae) in the North Pacific basin, a stark contrast to the larger Llanocetidae (whether Mystacodon belongs to llanocetids or another independent clade remains unresolved) with the latest Eocene onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Southern Hemisphere.7,8,9 Our discovery suggests that disparate mechanisms and ecological scenarios may have nurtured contrasting early mysticete evolutionary histories in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Systematics

Cetacea

Mysticeti

Aetiocetidae

Fucaia humilis sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Fucaia humilis sp. nov. shares with other species of Fucaia a newly identified synapomorphy: a shallow and rounded secondary squamosal fossa on the posterolateral margin of the squamosal (Figure 1). Eomysticetids possess a similar character, but the homology within Mysticeti remains uncertain. Furthermore, Fucaia humilis sp. nov. differs from all other aetiocetids and other Fucaia species by having the following unique character combination: a shorter intertemporal constriction exposed on the skull vertex; the presence of a distinct nuchal tubercle at the junction of parieto-squamosal suture and supraoccipital; a broadly rounded, dorsally low, and lobate coronoid process of the mandible; the presence of a postcoronoid elevation; and rounded anterior border of the tympanic bulla.

 Etymology: In Latin, humilis refers to humble in English, alluding to the previously unknown humble early mysticete evolution in the Northern Hemisphere.

Cheng-Hsiu Tsai, James L. Goedert and Robert W. Boessenecker. 2024. The Oldest mysticete in the Northern Hemisphere. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.011

  twitter.com/TSAI_NTU508/status/1773657177531486386 

[Mammalogy • 2024] Pudella carlae • The First living cervid Species described in the 21st Century and Revalidation of Pudella (Artiodactyla: Cervidae)

[2] Pudella carlae n. sp. 

[1] Pudella mephistophila &

 [3] Pudu pudu 

 Barrio, Gutiérrez & D’Elía, 2024 

DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyae012

 twitter.com/GuillermoDElia

 Drawing by Omar Custodio   facebook.com/OmarCustodio1

 Abstract

Several issues regarding the systematics and taxonomy of the Neotropical deer tribe Odocoileini, an assemblage of 18 recognized living species currently allocated into 7 genera, remain unclear. The few available phylogenetic analyses indicate that some genera are not monophyletic and that species richness in the group is underestimated. One genus that presents both problems are the stocky and short-legged dwarf deer, Pudu. As currently understood, it includes 2 species, the Northern pudu, Pudu mephistophiles from Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia; and the Southern pudu, P. puda, from southern Chile and nearby Argentina. Here, by means of qualitative and quantitative morphologic analysis and the assessment of genetic variation, we showed that 2 distinct species are encompassed by the current concept of P. mephistophiles. The typical form distributes north of the Huancabamba Depression from northernmost Peru to the north (Ecuador and Colombia), while the other distributes south of the Huancabamba Depression and is a Peruvian endemic. As no name is available for the last one, we describe and name it here. This is the first living cervid species described in the 21st century and the first from the New World in over 60 years. Additionally, as the Southern Pudu (the type species of Pudu) is not sister to the 2 northern pudu species, we revalidate the genus Pudella to allocate the latter 2 species.

Pudella mephistophila, Pudella carlae n. sp. & Pudu pudu  

Drawing by Omar Custodio  

Pudella mephistophila [Pudu mephistophile]

Pudella carlae 

Pudu pudu 

Javier Barrio, Eliécer E Gutiérrez and Guillermo D’Elía. 2024. The First living cervid Species described in the 21st Century and Revalidation of Pudella (Artiodactyla). Journal of Mammalogy. gyae012. DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyae012

 twitter.com/GuillermoDElia/status/1763933248671924620

 facebook.com/OmarCustodio1/posts/10232237727316283

  

Resumen: Distintos aspectos de la sistemática y taxonomía de la tribu de ciervos neotropicales Odocoileini, que incluye un conjunto de 18 especies vivas reconocidas actualmente que se engloban en siete géneros, siguen sin estar resueltos. Los pocos análisis filogenéticos disponibles indican que algunos géneros no son monofiléticos y que la riqueza del grupo esta subestimada. Uno de los géneros que presenta ambos problemas es el género de ciervos pequeños y patas cortas Pudu. Con base en la clasificación actual, éste incluye dos especies, Pudu mephistophiles distribuido en Perú, Ecuador y Colombia y P. puda distribuido en el sur de Chile y áreas cercanas de Argentina. Este estudio mediante análisis morfológicos cualitativo y cuantitativo y la evaluación de la variación genética, muestra que el concepto actual de P. mephistophiles engloba a dos especies distintas. La forma típica se distribuye al norte de la Depresión de Huancabamba desde el extremo norte de Perú hacia el norte (Ecuador y Colombia), mientras que la segunda se distribuye al sur de la Depresión de Huancabamba y es endémica de Perú. Como no hay nombre disponible para esta última, aquí la nominamos y describimos formalmente. Esta es la primera especie viviente de cérvido descrita en el siglo XXI y la primera del Nuevo Mundo en más de 60 años. Además, como el pudú del sur (la especie tipo de Pudu) no es hermano de las dos especies de pudú del norte, revalidamos el género Pudella para colocar a las dos últimas especies.

[Mammalogy • 2021] Mesoplodon eueu • Speciation in the Deep: Genomics and Morphology reveal A New Species of Beaked Whale (Odontoceti: Ziphiidae)

Mesoplodon eueu

Carroll, McGowen, McCarthy, Marx, Aguilar, Dalebout, Dreyer, Gaggiotti, Hansen, ... et Olsen, 2021

Ramari's Beaked Whale || DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1213 

  twitter.com/EmzLCarroll

Abstract

The deep sea has been described as the last major ecological frontier, as much of its biodiversity is yet to be discovered and described. Beaked whales (ziphiids) are among the most visible inhabitants of the deep sea, due to their large size and worldwide distribution, and their taxonomic diversity and much about their natural history remain poorly understood. We combine genomic and morphometric analyses to reveal a new Southern Hemisphere ziphiid species, Ramari's beaked whale, Mesoplodon eueu, whose name is linked to the Indigenous peoples of the lands from which the species holotype and paratypes were recovered. Mitogenome and ddRAD-derived phylogenies demonstrate reciprocally monophyletic divergence between M. eueu and True's beaked whale (M. mirus) from the North Atlantic, with which it was previously subsumed. Morphometric analyses of skulls also distinguish the two species. A time-calibrated mitogenome phylogeny and analysis of two nuclear genomes indicate divergence began circa 2 million years ago (Ma), with geneflow ceasing 0.35–0.55 Ma. This is an example of how deep sea biodiversity can be unravelled through increasing international collaboration and genome sequencing of archival specimens. Our consultation and involvement with Indigenous peoples offers a model for broadening the cultural scope of the scientific naming process.

Keywords: True's beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus, Ramari's beaked whale, Mesoplodon eueu, taxonomy, biodiversity

Figure 1. Sampling locations in the NA (black circles) and SH (yellow circle). Global map viewed as a Spilhaus projection that shows the connectedness of the ocean, with sampling locations and distribution of Mesoplodon mirus and proposed species Mesoplodon eueu shown by the key, with the artist's impression of the species in top right.

Credit: Vivian Ward, University of Auckland.

Figure 4. Skull and morphological distinctiveness of Mesoplodon eueu shown by holotype (NMNZ MM003000). (a) Skull in dorsal (left), ventral (centre) and left lateral (right) view (b) periotic in dorsal (left) and ventral (right) view; (c) tympanic bulla in dorsal (left) and ventral (right) view; (d) mandible in dorsal (top) and lateral (bottom) view; (e) mandibular tusks in medial (left) and lateral (right) view. (f) PCA of cranial and mandibular measurements showing clear separation between M. eueu from the SH and M. mirus from the NA. Percentages next to principal components (PCs) denote the total variance explained. Filled stars are holotypes and hollow stars paratypes.  

Skull of Mesoplodon eueu shown by holotype (NMNZ MM003000),
 in dorsal, ventral and left lateral view.

Systematic biology

Cetacea Brisson 1762

Ziphiidae Gray 1865

Mesoplodon Gervais 1850

Mesoplodon eueu sp. nov.

Holotype: NMNZ MM003000, a pregnant, 5.06 m long adult female named Nihongore by Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio. Collected by Ramari Stewart, Nathaniel Scott and Don Neale after beachcast on 27 November 2011. The complete skeletons of the female and fetus are held by Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand; specimen MM003000), and a tissue sample is held in the New Zealand Cetacean Tissue Archive (NZCeTA, University of Auckland, Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand; all institutional abbreviations in electronic supplementary material, S1).

Type locality: Waiatoto Spit, South Westland, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Diagnosis: 

Molecular characteristics

M. eueu differs from M. mirus based on nuclear DNA markers, and from M. mirus and its closest relatives M. europaeus, M. ginkgodens and M. bidens using mtDNA markers (figure 2). M. mirus is distinct from all other mesoplodont species based on previous mitochondrial and nuclear DNA trees [7,20,24].

Mitochondrial DNA: analysis of mitochondrial data includes sequences from the holotypes of both M. mirus and M. eueu at all sequence lengths. Over the 304 bp mitochondrial control region segment, M. eueu is distinguished by seven fixed differences from M. mirus, with FST = 0.85 (p < 0.01), dA = 0.04 between the two species. At the full mitochondrial genome lengths, M. eueu is distinguished by 579 fixed differences from M. mirus with FST = 0.96 (p < 0.01) and dA = 0.04 (electronic supplementary material, table S2).

Nuclear DNA: reduced representation sequencing with ddRAD showed M. eueu had a distinct admixture pattern to M. mirus (figure 2), and an FST = 0.64 (p < 0.0001) was estimated between the two species. M. mirus and M. eueu were distinguished by 1909 fixed differences (12%, per SNP allele error rate = 0.002), across a dataset of 15 671 SNPs found between or within both species. Comparison of one whole nuclear genome each from M. mirus and M. eueu showed a level of nucleotide divergence of 0.28%.

Morphological characters: 

M. eueu is a larger (5.3 m) species of Mesoplodon differing from all other members of the genus except M. mirus, M. hectori and M. perrini in having tusks positioned at the tip of the mandible. It also differs from M. hectori and M. perrini in having smaller, less triangular tusks and from M. mirus in having a relatively shorter rostrum with a wider base, a shorter mandibular symphysis, wider premaxillary sac fossae and crests, and a taller cranium.

Etymology: The scientific and common names acknowledge links with Indigenous communities in South Africa and Aotearoa New Zealand, respectively, and were chosen in consultation with these peoples. Most of the South African strandings come from territory inhabited by the Khoisan peoples. Guided by the Khoisan Council, we chose the name //eu//’eu (simplified to eueu to fit nomenclature standards; correct pronunciation available in associated audio clip a1 in the electronic supplementary material), which means ‘big fish’ in Khwedam (from the Khoe language family). In Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori cultural expert Brad Haami developed a shortlist of potential names meaningful in the Māori language, which was then sent for comment to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. The selected common name, Ramari's beaked whale, pays homage to Māori tohunga (expert) Ramari Stewart, who has kept traditional knowledge alive, contributed extensively to scientific research on marine mammals, and helped prepare the skeleton of the holotype. The word ‘Ramari’ means a rare event in the Māori language, reflecting the elusive nature of most beaked whales.

 

Emma L. Carroll, Michael R. McGowen, Morgan L. McCarthy, Felix G. Marx, Natacha Aguilar, Merel L. Dalebout, Sascha Dreyer, Oscar E. Gaggiotti, Sabine S. Hansen, Anton van Helden, Aubrie B. Onoufriou, Robin W. Baird, C. Scott Baker, Simon Berrow, Danielle Cholewiak, Diane Claridge, Rochelle Constantine, Nicholas J. Davison, Catarina Eira, R. Ewan Fordyce, John Gatesy, G. J. Greg Hofmeyr, Vidal Martín, James G. Mead, Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni, Phillip A. Morin, Cristel Reyes, Emer Rogan, Massimiliano Rosso, Mónica A. Silva, Mark S. Springer, Debbie Steel and Morten Tange Olsen. 2021. Speciation in the Deep: Genomics and Morphology reveal A New Species of Beaked Whale Mesoplodon eueu. Proc. R. Soc. B. 288. 20211213: 20211213. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1213

  twitter.com/EmzLCarroll/status/1453154947520892933

      

[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