[PaleoMammalogy • 2026] Paludocyon moyasolai • A New Species of Paludocyon (Carnivora: Amphicyonidae) from the early Middle Miocene of els Casots (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Barcelona, Spain)

 

Paludocyon moyasolai 

Morales, Abella, Valenciano, Gamarra, Robles, Gregori, Alba & Casanovas-Vilar, 2026  

 DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s10914-026-09814-6 

illustration by Jesús Gamarra    x.com/Gamarraptor

Abstract

The early Middle Miocene (15.9 Ma) site of els Casots (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain) has yielded a rich vertebrate assemblage, including abundant carnivoran remains that mostly remain unpublished. Here we describe a new species of the amphicyonid genus Paludocyon based on a compressed cranium with well-preserved teeth and an isolated lower molar (m2) from els Casots. Paludocyon moyasolai sp. nov., included in the subfamily Amphicyoninae, is characterized by a notably enlarged M2, which is buccolingually broader than the M1, and by a the relatively large size of the M3, both traits being absent in other species of Paludocyon. A phylogenetic analysis, conducted on European and North American species assigned to Cynelos and Paludocyon, indicates that Cynelos is paraphyletic but supports the monophyly of Paludocyon, with the new species being recovered as its basal-most member.

 

Keywords: Amphicyoninae, Europe, Iberian Peninsula, Paleobiogeography, Phylogeny

Systematic Paleontology

Order Carnivora Bowdich, 1821

Family Amphicyonidae Trouessart, 1885

Subfamily Amphicyoninae Trouessart, 1885

Tribe Amphicyonini Trouessart, 1885

Paludocyon moyasolai sp. nov. from els Casots.
 a–f. Cranium, IPS10156, holotype: a. lateral left view; b. ventral part; c. left P4–M3 (stereo pair) in occlusal view; d. right P2 in lingual view and the left P3–M2 in buccal view; e. isolated right M1 in occlusal view; f. isolated right M2 in occlusal view.
g–i. Left m2, IPS11438, paratype, stereo pairs in occlusal (g), buccal (h), and lingual (i) views.

All specimens are depicted to the same scale except scale bars in a equal 10 cm, scale bar in b-i equal 5 cm

Paludocyon moyasolai sp. nov.

Type locality: els Casots, Catalonia, Spain.

Age and distribution: Aragonian subzone Cb (MN5), earliest Middle Miocene (~ 15.9 Ma), only known from the type locality.

Diagnosis: Medium-sized species of Paludocyon; P4 with reduced protocone; robust M1 with lingual platform reduced; M2 buccolingually broader than M1, with metacone smaller than paracone; M3 large and with well-defined trigone cuspids; m2 with a robust trigonid, protoconid and metaconid almost of the same height, protoconid with a weak basal buccal widening, short talonid of similar width as the trigonid, and large hypoconid occupying the buccal area of the talonid basin.

Etymology: Species epithet dedicated to Salvador Moyà-Solà, in recognition of his wonderful contribution to the development of European paleomastology (see review in Alba 2025).

Paludocyon moyasolai sp. nov. from els Casots, Spain. Reconstructed life appearance of the head and neck (illustration by Jesús Gamarra)

 

Jorge Morales, Juan Abella, Alberto Valenciano, Jesús Gamarra, Josep M. Robles, Maria Gregori, David M. Alba and Isaac Casanovas-Vilar. 2026. A New Species of Paludocyon (Carnivora: Amphicyonidae) from the early Middle Miocene of els Casots (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Barcelona, Spain).  Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 33, 29. DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s10914-026-09814-6   [06 June 2026]

  x.com/Gamarraptor/status/2064277680023888311

[PaleoMammalogy • 2026] Archaeomeles neglecta • A New Genus of Badger from Pikermi (Greece) and A Review of the Systematics and Evolution of Miocene Melinae (Carnivora: Mustelidae)

Archaeomeles neglecta 

Kargopoulos, Valenciano, Jiangzuo, Liakopoulou, Gerakakis, Kampouridis, Paparizos, Svorligkou, Filis, Sklavounou & Roussiakis, 2026

  DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2026.2647483  

 x.com/paleo_alberto

 

Abstract

The evolution of Mustelidae has been a topic of debate, obscured by a complex system of convergences between phylogenetically distant groups. In this work, we present a new genus and species of mustelid, Archaeomeles neglecta gen. et sp. nov., from the classical Turolian locality of Pikermi (Greece, Late Miocene, MN12). The material consists of a skull with the associated mandible and shows distinct features that clearly differentiate it from all other known mustelid genera. These characteristics include a long and narrow rostrum, the absence of developed sagittal and supraorbital crest, relatively slender mandibular corpus, enamel folds on the lower canines, the wide P3 and p4, and the moderately enlarged M1 talon and m1 talonid. Morphometrical comparisons and phylogenetic analysis suggest that Archaeomeles is a stem member of the Melinae along with the other Turolian mustelids Promeles, Polgardia and Melodon from Eurasia. Ecomorphological comparisons indicate intermediate dietary habits between the plesiomorphic gulonines and the derived extant badgers, suggesting a diet that is based on small vertebrates and invertebrates as well as plant material. 

Keywords: Carnivora, Ecomorphology, Mustelidae, Phylogeny, Turolian

Systematic palaeontology

Order Carnivora Bowdich, 1821

Suborder Caniformia Kretzoi, 1943

Family Mustelidae Batsch, 1788

Subfamily Melinae Bonaparte, 1838

Genus Archaeomeles gen. nov.

Type and only species. Archaeomeles neglecta sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Mustelid of the size of the extant European otter (Lutra lutra); rostrum long and slender; P1/p1 present; P2/p2 two-rooted; P3 significantly wide; P4 moderately shortened; P4 with hypocone region moderately developed; M1 moderately expanded distolingually, with metaconule and a high protocone; mandibular corpus slender; lower canine with enamel folds; p4 slender without marked accessory cuspids, m1 with low trigonid cuspids, talonid moderately enlarged and basin-like, without entoconid and entoconulid, but with distinct hypoconid and a minute, buccally situated hypoconulid.

Derivation of name: Archaeo-, from the Greek word Ἀρχαῖος meaning ancient, and -meles meaning badger. The name Archaeomeles, ‘ancient badger’, is chosen to highlight its key position in the radiation of the Melinae in the Turolian.

Archaeomeles neglecta sp. nov.

Holotype. AMPG-P.A. 4879/91 – skull with an associated mandible.

 

Derivation of name. The specific name neglecta comes from the feminine of the Latin word neglectus meaning neglected. It refers to the holotype being overlooked in the collections of AMPG for over a century.

Type Locality. Pikermi (classical layers), Attica, Greece.

Age. 7.33–7.29Ma, Turolian, Late Miocene (MN 12).

 

Nikolaos Kargopoulos, Alberto Valenciano, Qigao Jiangzuo, Dionysia Liakopoulou, Nikolaos Gerakakis, Panagiotis Kampouridis, Nikolaos Paparizos, Georgia Svorligkou, Panagiotis Filis, Stamatina Sklavounou and Socrates Roussiakis. 2026. A New Genus of Badger from Pikermi (Greece) and A Review of the Systematics and Evolution of Miocene Melinae (Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 24(1); 2647483.  DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2026.2647483 [24 Apr 2026]

  x.com/paleo_alberto/status/2047713035066736997

[PaleoMammalogy • 2026] Metapterodon anari • Hyaenodonta from the Middle to Late Miocene deposits of the Siwaliks of Pakistan with a brief account of Indian subcontinent hyaenodonts

 

Metapterodon anari 

Mahmood, Abbas, Jasinski, Babar & Khan, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s12542-025-00766-5  

 x.com/StevenJasinski

 reconstruction by Sergey Krasovskiy

Abstract

New fossil material identified as ‘creodonts,’ particularly hyaenodonts, from the Siwaliks of Pakistan provide significant new information on this important group of carnivores. Three hyaenodont taxa are identified based on these new fossils. Deciduous dental remains identified as ?Megistotherium/Hyainailouros sp. provide important new data on large hyaenodonts and their presence in the Miocene of southern Asia. Fossils identified as Hyaenodon cf. H. pervagus potentially provide important new temporal and biogeographic data on a highly speciose genus of hyaenodont. While the genus is known throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere (Asia, Europe, North America), these new fossils represent the first record of the genus from the Siwaliks, expanding its range in southern Asia. They also represent the youngest temporal occurrence of the genus (Middle Miocene). Another fossil represents a new species, Metapterodon anari sp. nov. This genus was previously tentatively identified from the Siwaliks, but this new material provides definitive evidence of its presence. Not only does this confirm its presence in the Miocene Siwalik deposits of the Indian subcontinent but also represents an important temporal occurrence for the genus. It represents the youngest occurrence of the genus worldwide but may also represent the youngest occurrence of any hyaenodont. The new material provides important new data on some of the less well-known ‘creodonts’ of the Siwaliks, and this data is important for not only our understanding of some of the youngest hyaenodonts near their eventual extinction, but the complex mammal communities preserved on the Indian subcontinent.

Keywords: Hyaenodonta, Siwaliks, Metapterodon, Hyaenodon, Miocene, Biostratigraphy

Siwalik fossil referred to Metapterodon anari sp. nov.
 (A–C), PUPC 19/99 (holotype), nearly complete left m3 in A occlusal, B buccal (labial), and C lingual views.

 bk buccal keel, n notch, pcd paraconid, popcd postparacristid, ppcd preparacristid, pprcd preprotocristid, prcd protoconid, tc talonid cuspid, wf wear facet. Scale bar is 10 mm

Metapterodon anari sp. nov.

Diagnosis. A large species of the genus Metapterodon with large distal (= posterior) lower molars; below the apex of m3, inflated paraconid and protoconid separated by extremely narrow, shallow conspicuous notch; protoconid larger and higher than paraconid; presence of large, distinct buccal keel on the base of paraconid; and extremely reduced unicuspidate talonid.

Holotype. PUPC 19/99, nearly complete left m3 (Fig. 3).

Type locality and age. Y311 (10.063 Ma), Sethi Nagri locality, Chakwal, Punjab, Pakistan.

Horizon. Nagri Formation of Middle Siwalik subgroup (early Late Miocene).

Etymology. Named after Mr. Anar Khan (late), a host and guide in Hasnot and surrounding areas, who served national and international researchers for more than 50 years.

Biogeographic distribution of Hyaenodon species.

Biogeographic distribution of Hyaenodon species.

Metapterodon anari sp. nov.

 reconstruction by Sergey Krasovskiy

  

 

Khalid Mahmood, Sayyed Ghyour Abbas, Steven E. Jasinski, Muhammad Adeeb Babar and Muhammad Akbar Khan. 2026. Hyaenodonta from the Middle to Late Miocene deposits of the Siwaliks of Pakistan with a brief account of Indian subcontinent hyaenodonts. PalZ. DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s12542-025-00766-5 [16 April 2026] 

 x.com/StevenJasinski/status/2060104303272919118

https://www.harrisburgu.edu/news/2026-05-27-new-species-carnivorous-mammals/

[PaleoMammalogy • 2026] Cimolodon desosai • Cranial and Postcranial Remains of A New Species of Cimolodon (Multituberculata: Cimolodontidae) from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) El Gallo Formation of Baja California, México

Cimolodon desosai

Mantilla, Newbins, Fastovsky, Zhang, Montellano-Ballesteros, Alcántara & Chen, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2026.2641109

Illustration by Andrey Atuchin

ABSTRACT

Late Cretaceous mammals from North America are predominantly known from isolated teeth and fragmentary jaws and from localities representing coastal lowlands along the Western Interior Seaway. Here, we report craniodental and associated postcranial remains of a new species of the cimolodontid multituberculate genus Cimolodon from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) El Gallo Formation of Baja California, México. The specimen was deposited along the Pacific Coast between 75.17 ± 0.30 Ma and 74.55 ± 0.18 Ma. It represents the most complete mammal known from the Mesozoic of México and one of the best known cimolodontan multituberculates from North America. Morphologically, the new species, Cimolodon desosai, is most like C. nitidus, but differences include upper anterior premolar shape, molar cusp formulae, and relative length proportions of the cheek teeth. Phylogenetic analysis supports placement of the new species within Cimolodon and Ptilodontoidea, but uncertainties remain regarding relationships among cimolodontan families. Using the craniodental and postcranial data, we quantitatively reconstruct C. desosai as a small-bodied (∼100 g), animal-dominated omnivore with a scansorial locomotor mode. With the new taxonomic occurrence, the El Gallo mammalian local fauna is now known from 16 specimens referred to three multituberculate species (Mesodma cf. M. formosa, ?Stygimys sp., and Cimolodon desosai), one metatherian (Pediomys sp.), and one eutherian (Gallolestes pachymandibularis). Although further sampling is needed, the mammalian local fauna presently shows greatest biogeographic affinities with the Terlingua local fauna of western Texas.

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

MAMMALIA Linnaeus, 1758

MULTITUBERCULATA Cope, 1884

CIMOLODONTA McKenna, 1975

PTILODONTOIDEA Sloan and Van Valen, 1965

CIMOLODONTIDAE McKenna, 1975

CIMOLODON Marsh, 1889

CIMOLODON DESOSAI, sp. nov.

Partial cranium of the holotype of Cimolodon desosai (IGM 14691).
Images are three-dimensional surface renderings from μCT scans in: A, anterior; B, stereo dorsal; C, stereo ventral; D, left lateral; and E, right lateral views of the partial cranium; and F, occlusal view of the right upper cheek tooth row in high magnification. Dashed white lines represent interpreted position of cranial bone sutures.

Abbreviations: al, anterior lamina; fr, frontal; iof, intraorbital foramen; mx, maxilla; na, nasal; naf, nasal foramen; otc, orbitotemporal canal; pa, parietal; pav, palatal vacuity; pmx, premaxilla; pop, postorbital process; sq, squamosal; zpm, zygomatic process of the maxilla. Scale bar equals 10 mm for A–E and 2 mm for F.

Cimolodon desosai on the tree with a fruit in its mouth. It was about the size of a golden hamster. It likely scampered on the ground and in the trees and ate fruits and insects.

Illustration by Andrey Atuchin

 

 

Gregory P. Wilson Mantilla, Isiah R. Newbins, David E. Fastovsky, Yue Zhang, Marisol Montellano-Ballesteros, Dalia García Alcántara and Meng Chen. 2026. Cranial and Postcranial Remains of A New Species of Cimolodon (Mammalia, Multituberculata, Cimolodontidae) from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) El Gallo Formation of Baja California, México. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2641109. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2026.2641109  [22 Apr 2026]

[PaleoMammalogy • 2026] The Japanese Archipelago sheltered Cave Lions, not Tigers, during the Late Pleistocene

 a Late Pleistocene cave lion Panthera spelaea overlooking Mount Fuji, Japan. 

in Sun, Peng, Tsutaya, Jiangzuo, ... et Luo, 2026. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2523901123 

Artistic reconstruction by Velizar Simeonovski

 

Abstract

Lions and tigers, as dominant apex predators, likely became competitors when lions expanded from Africa into Eurasia approximately one million years ago (Ma), forming a lion–tiger transition belt from the Middle East through Central Asia to the Russian Far East. At the easternmost edge of this zone, the Japanese Archipelago has long been considered a Late Pleistocene tiger refugium, supported by large felid subfossils traditionally attributed to tigers (Panthera tigris), though their taxonomic identity remained unresolved. To clarify the origin, evolutionary history, and biogeography of Japan’s Pleistocene felids, we analyzed 26 ancient specimens previously assumed to be tigers. Using mitochondrial and nuclear genome hybridization capture and sequencing, paleoproteomics, Bayesian molecular dating, and radiocarbon dating, we found that all ancient Japanese “tiger” remains yielding molecular data were, unexpectedly, cave lions (Panthera spelaea). One specimen from Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, was radiocarbon dated to 36,000-34,891 cal. BP. These cave lions likely dispersed to the Japanese Archipelago between ~72.7 and 37.5 thousand years ago (ka), when a land bridge connected northern Japan to the mainland during the Last Glacial Period. Our findings challenge the long-held view that tigers once took refuge in Japan, showing instead that cave lions were widespread in northeast Asia during this period and were the Panthera lineage that colonized Japan, reaching even its southwestern regions despite habitats previously thought to favor tigers.

Maps showing the possible distributions of lions and tigers in eastern Eurasia and Alaska during different Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) of the Late Pleistocene. ...

Artistic reconstruction of a Late Pleistocene cave lion overlooking Mount Fuji, Japan.

Artwork by Velizar Simeonovski

Significance: Lions and tigers were widespread apex predators during the Late Pleistocene and integral components of East Asian megafauna. Cave lions predominantly inhabited northern Eurasia, whereas tigers were distributed farther south. The boundary between their ranges extended across Eurasia and shifted with climatic fluctuations, such as glacial–interglacial oscillations. Our findings challenge the prevailing view that tigers once took refuge in Japan and that cave lion distribution was limited to the Russian Far East and northeast China. These findings provide evidence that lions, rather than tigers, colonized the Japanese Archipelago during the Late Pleistocene. This finding extends the known range of cave lions in East Asia and refines our understanding of how far south the lion–tiger transition belt shifted during this period.

 

Xin Sun, Lanhui Peng, Takumi Tsutaya, Qigao Jiangzuo, Yoshikazu Hasegawa, Yuxin Hou, Yu Han, Yan Zhuang, Nuno Filipe Gomes Martins, Jazmin Ramos Madrigal, Alberto J. Taurozzi, Meaghan Mackie, Gaudry Trochė, Jesper V. Olsen, Enrico Cappellini, Stephen J. O’Brien, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Nobuyuki Yamaguchi, and Shu-Jin Luo. 2026. The Japanese Archipelago sheltered Cave Lions, not Tigers, during the Late Pleistocene. PNAS. 123(6); e2523901123. DOI: doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2523901123 [January 26, 2026]

[PaleoMammalogy • 2026] Masripithecus moghraensis • An Early Miocene Ape from the Biogeographic Crossroads of African and Eurasian Hominoidea

Masripithecus moghraensis

Al-Ashqar, Seiffert, El-Sayed, Salem, Gohar, El-Saka, Amin & Sallam, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.1126/science.adz4102

nhm.org

Illustration by Mauricio Antón

Abstract

The Early Miocene fossil record documenting hominoid evolution has long been restricted primarily to sites in East Africa, whereas contemporaneous North African sites have only yielded remains of cercopithecoid monkeys. Here, we describe a fossil ape from North Africa, a new genus (Masripithecus) from the Early Miocene (~17 million to 18 million years) of northern Egypt, on the basis of mandibular remains. A combined molecular-morphological Bayesian tip-dating analysis positions Masripithecus closer to crown hominoids than coeval fossil apes from East Africa, thereby filling a phylogenetic and biogeographic gap in the evolution of stem hominoids. This evidence suggests that crown Hominoidea might have originated during the Early Miocene in the underexplored northeastern part of Afro-Arabia, rather than in eastern Africa or Eurasia.

 

Masripithecus moghraensis

Illustration of Masripithecus moghraensis by Mauricio Antón

Masripithecus moghraensis and the dispersal of crown hominoids in the Miocene. The map highlights Wadi Moghra, Egypt (star), which is the discovery site of Masripithecus—the first definitive North African ape—alongside key Miocene hominoid localities (see table S1) across Afro-Arabia and Eurasia. Arrows indicate inferred dispersal routes based on the phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses presented here. The inset phylogeny places Masripithecus as the closest sampled sister taxon of crown Hominoidea. At lower left, a life reconstruction of Masripithecus based on the Masripithecus mandible combined with the facial morphology of the middle Miocene hominoid Pierolapithecus. Illustration by Mauricio Antón

 

SHOROUQ F. AL-ASHQAR, ERIK R. SEIFFERT, SANAA EL-SAYED, BELAL S. SALEM, ABDULLAH S. GOHAR, HOSSAM EL-SAKA, MOHAMED AMIN, AND HESHAM M. SALLAM. 2026. An Early Miocene Ape from the Biogeographic Crossroads of African and Eurasian Hominoidea. SCIENCE. 391(6792); 1383-1386. DOI: doi.org/10.1126/science.adz4102 [26 Mar 2026]

https://nhm.org/stories/meet-masripithecus-newly-described-ancient-ape-fills-gap-evolutionary-history-primates

 facebook.com/TheLeakeyFoundation/posts/1414457444059470

Editor’s summary: The vast majority of early hominoid fossil hunting has occurred in East Africa, where a trove of early fossils and lineages have been found. Other regions in Africa have been less explored for various reasons, inspiring the question of whether a focus on East Africa has shaped opinions about where early hominoid evolution occurred. Al-Ashqar et al. now describe a Miocene ape from Egypt with crown hominoid affinities suggesting both that this lineage diverged before entering Eurasia and that a focus on one African region may have shaped our ideas about where hominoids first emerged (see the Perspective by Alba and Arias-Martorell). —Sacha Vignieri

[PaleoMammalogy • 2026] Notopolytheles joelis • First unambiguous evidence of Multituberculata from the Late Cretaceous of South America

 

upper left: upper molar Notopolytheles joelis in occlusal view.

lower left: plagiaulacoid tooth of Argentodites coloniensis.

Notopolytheles joelis

Gelfo, Goin & Vega, 2025

  DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-25255-2

Abstract

We report a left upper first molar of a multituberculate mammal, from the Upper Cretaceous La Colonia Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina, which is here assigned to Notopolytheles joelis gen. et sp. nov. (Cimolodonta,?Neoplagiaulacidae). Multituberculates have been previously reported from Gondwanan land masses, but to date, only records from Australia, Madagascar, and India have been taxonomically undisputed. In South America, all previous assignments were debated or later referred to Gondwanatheria. These records include isolated molars attributed to Ferugliotheriidae and Argentodites coloniensis, only known from a plagiaulacoid premolar and originally assigned to the ?Cimolodonta. Since no molar with definitive multituberculate features could ever be found in the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, A. coloniensis was considered a junior synonym of the ferugliotheriid Ferugliotherium windhauseni. Notopolytheles joelis gen. et sp. nov. displays a typical multituberculate molar configuration of three rows of tetrahedral cups, with a cusp formula of 7B:8M:4L similar to Neoplagiaulacidae. The lower position of the buccal cusp row supported by a single large labial root suggest a high level of endemism. This finding provides strong and renewed support for the hypothesis that ferugliotheriids lack a plagiaulacoid p4 and that Argentodites coloniensis is indeed a multituberculate.

Keywords: South America, Patagonia, La Colonia Formation, Late Cretaceous, Multituberculata, Gondwanatheria

Left: upper molar of the new species Notopolytheles joelis in occlusal view.
Right: plagiaulacoid tooth of Argentodites coloniensis.

Scale bar = 1 mm.

Reconstruction of the small multituberculate Notopolytheles joelis from the Late Cretaceous La Colonia Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina. (by Manuel Copello)

Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758.

Multituberculata Cope, 1884.

Cimolodonta McKenna, 1975.

?Neoplagiaulacidae Ameghino, 1890.

Notopolytheles joelis gen. and sp. nov.

Etymology: The genus name refers to ‘southern multituberculate’ and derives from three Greek roots: noto- (south), poly- (many), and theles (protuberance), the last two in reference to the multiple cusps characteristic of multituberculate teeth. The specific epithet joelis is named after Joel Hernán Carino, who discovered the tooth.

Javier N. Gelfo, Francisco J. Goin  and Nahuel A. Vega. 2025. First unambiguous evidence of Multituberculata from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Scientific Reports. 15, 41500. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-25255-2 [24 November 2025]

 

A TINY FOSSIL TOOTH REWRITES THE HISTORY OF SOUTHERN MAMMALS

https://go.nature.com/4rnCGwU

 

[PaleoMammalogy • 2023] Pachypanthera piriyai • A new large pantherine and a sabre-toothed cat (Carnivora: Felidae) from the late Miocene hominoid-bearing Khorat sand pits, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand

Pachypanthera piriyai   

de Bonis, Chaimanee, Grohé, Chavasseau, Mazurier, Suraprasit & Jaeger, 2023

  

DOI: 10.1007/s00114-023-01867-4

  Researchgate.net/publication/373162644

 facebook.com/ASRUChula 

 

Abstract

We describe two large predators from the hominoid-bearing Khorat sand pits, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand: a new genus of pantherine, Pachypanthera n. gen., represented by partial mandible and maxilla and an indeterminate sabre-toothed cat, represented by a fragment of upper canine. The morphological characters of Pachypanthera piriyai n. gen. n. sp., notably the large and powerful canine, the great robustness of the mandibular body, the very deep fossa for the m. masseter, the zigzag HSB enamel pattern, indicate bone-cracking capacities. The genus is unique among Felidae as it has one of the most powerful and robust mandibles ever found. Moreover, it may be the oldest known pantherine, as other Asian pantherines are dated back to the early Pliocene. The taxa we report here are the only carnivorans known from the late Miocene of Thailand. Although the material is rather scarce, it brings new insights to the evolutionary history of Neogene mammals of Southeast Asia, in a geographic place which is partly “terra incognita.”

Keywords: Asia, Felidae, New taxon, Bone cracking, Late Miocene, Sabre-toothed cat, Pantherine

Order Carnivora Bowdich, 1821

Sub-order Feliformia Kretzoi, 1945

Family Felidae Batsch, 1788

Sub-family Felinae Batsch, 1788

Pachypanthera n. gen.

Etymology: from the greek “Pachy” = thick.

 

Digital reconstruction of the mandible of Pachypanthera piriyai n. gen. n. sp. (a) in comparison with the mandible of Panthera leo (UPPal CAR-5-001) (b) in occlusal view. Scale bar = 20 mm

Right maxilla of Pachypanthera piriyai n. gen. n. sp. (CUF-KR-2).
a Occlusal view; b medial view; c lateral view (scale bar = 20 mm)

Pachypanthera piriyai n. gen. n. sp., left hemi-mandible CUF-KR-1.
a Occlusal view (stereopair); b inferior view; c lateral view; d medial view (scale bar = 20 mm)

Pachypanthera piriyai n. sp

Origin of the name: in honor of Piriya Vachajitpan, who played a critical part in recovering the fossils.

Holotype (CUF-KR-1): left hemi-mandible with the alveoli for i1–i3, canine alveolus, remains of roots of p3, p4 and partially broken off m1 crown.

 

Locality: Khorat sand pit, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand

Age: late Miocene, 9 to 6 Ma.

 

 

L. de Bonis, Y. Chaimanee, C. Grohé, O. Chavasseau, A. Mazurier, K. Suraprasit and J.J. Jaeger. 2023. A new large pantherine and a sabre-toothed cat (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) from the late Miocene hominoid-bearing Khorat sand pits, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand. The Science of Nature. 110, 42. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-023-01867-4

 facebook.com/ASRUChula/posts/688793099932089 

 Researchgate.net/publication/373162644_A_new_large_pantherine_from_the_late_Miocene_hominoid-bearing_Khorat_sand_pits

[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Circamustela bhapralensis, Vishnuictis plectilodous, ... • Rare Carnivorous Mammals from A diverse Fossil Assemblage from the Middle Siwaliks of Haritalyangar area, Himachal Pradesh, North India

Circamustela bhapralensis

Sankhyan, Abbas, Jasinski, Khan & Mahmood, 2025

 

DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s10914-025-09749-4

 www.harrisburgu.edu 

 x.com/StevenJasinski 

Artwork by Sergey Krasovskiy

Abstract

Newly collected fossil carnivoran material from the Haritalyangar and Nurpur Middle Siwalik sequences of Himachal Pradesh (India) include at least five taxa and two new species including Mustelidae (‘Martes’ lydekkeri, Circamustela bhapralensis sp. nov., Mustelidae indet.), Viverridae (Vishnuictis plectilodous sp. nov.), and Felidae (indeterminate basal Felinae). These findings include the first upper jaw material of ‘Martes’ lydekkeri, a rare mustelid known only from lower jaw specimens, suggesting potentially closer relationships with European mustelids. Additionally, we report the first identification of Circamustela from the Siwaliks of the Indian subcontinent, despite nearly two centuries of fossil collection in the region. This material represents a new species Circamustela bhapralensis sp. nov. Circamustela, originating in Europe, eventually migrated to the Indian subcontinent before its extinction, and the smaller body size of the new species may suggest a trend toward decreasing body size in this taxon. Fossil viverrid material also represents a new species, Vishnuictis plectilodous sp. nov., the youngest species yet known for the genus. This new material implies an increase in morphological complexity in the m1 of these viverrids, potentially also suggesting an increase in dietary diversity within this lineage. The new viverrid species may also represent the largest viverrid yet known. Mandibular material of a feline is also described, providing further information on the biodiversity of the fossil carnivorans in the region. These new specimens add important information to our knowledge of the ancient biodiversity of the region, the evolutionary history of several carnivoran mammals, and the carnivoran guild of southern Asia.

Keywords: Carnivora, Felidae, Haritalyangar, India, Mustelidae, Neogene, Siwaliks, Viverridae

Circamustela bhapralensis sp. nov.

Vishnuictis fossil comparisons.
a–c. Holotype m1 of Vishnuictis plectilodous sp. nov. (HTA-68), complete right m1 in occlusal (a), medial (lingual) (b), and lateral (labial) (c) views. d. Terminology for various features of the m1 of V. plectilodous sp. nov. (HTA-68).
e–g. Holotype right mandibular ramus containing p4 and m1 of V. hasnoti comb. nov. (HTA-135), modified from Pilgrim (1932: pl. II, figs. 18, 18a, 18b) in occlusal (e), medial (lingual) (f), and lateral (labial) (g) views. Scale bars equal 1 cm

Vishnuictis plectilodous sp. nov.

 

Anek Ram Sankhyan, Sayyed Ghyour Abbas, Steven E. Jasinski, Muhammad Akbar Khan and Khalid Mahmood. 2025. Rare Carnivorous Mammals from A diverse Fossil Assemblage from the Middle Siwaliks of Haritalyangar area, Himachal Pradesh, North India. Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 32; 14. DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s10914-025-09749-4 [22 March 2025]

Study on New Fossil Carnivorous Mammals from Himalayan Foothills 

 www.harrisburgu.edu/news/2025-04-01-new-fossil-carnivorous-mammals-himalayan 

 x.com/StevenJasinski/status/1907906123111539000

[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Salwasiren qatarensis • High Abundance of Early Miocene Sea Cows (Sirenia: Dugongidae) from Qatar shows repeated Evolution of Seagrass Ecosystem Engineers in Eastern Tethys

  

 Salwasiren qatarensis 

Pyenson​, Sakal, LeBlanc, Blundell, Klim, Marshall, Velez-Juarbe, Wolfe & Al-Naimi, 2025

 

DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20030

Artwork: Alex Boersma

Abstract 

Coastal ecosystems that include seagrasses are potential carbon sinks that require strategic conservation of top trophic consumers, such as dugongs, to maintain their function. It is unclear, however, how long seagrass ecosystems have persisted in geologic time because their fossil record is poor, although the record of their associated vertebrate consumers offers useful proxies. Here we describe an area of dense Early Miocene dugongid remains from Qatar. We documented over 172 sites in <1 km2 from one stratigraphic level, including material representing a new species of fossil dugongine dugongid. This taxon is unrelated to coeval Early Miocene dugongids from India and the Eastern Tethys and it is distantly related to extant dugongs, which occupy seagrass habitats of the Persian or Arabian Gulf (hereafter ‘Gulf’) today. The monodominant assemblage in this area likely reflects a single fossil dugongid taxon and matches the ecological diversity and geospatial distribution of modern-day live-dead assemblages in the Gulf. This fossil site from Qatar shows that the Gulf has repeatedly evolved sea cow communities with different taxa over the past 20 million years and coincides with an Early Miocene marine biodiversity hotspot in Arabia, prior to its eastward shift to the Indo-Australian Archipelago where dugongs continue to thrive today.

Keywords: Marine mammal, Paleoecology, Seagrasses, Evolution, Fossil record

Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758

Afrotheria Stanhope et al., 1998

Tethytheria McKenna, 1975

Sirenia Illiger, 1811 sensu Vélez-Juarbe & Wood, 2018

Dugongidae Gray, 1821 sensu Vélez-Juarbe & Wood, 2018

Dugonginae Gray, 1821 (Simpson, 1932) sensu Vélez-Juarbe & Wood, 2018

 Salwasiren qatarensis morphology using 3D photogrammetry of μCT of key skeletal elements.
(A–C) holotype cranium including left premaxilla, jugal, and partial braincase; (D–F) referred left incisor; (G–H) holotype left upper M2, in mesial and occlusal views, respectively; (I) holotype incomplete left mandible; (J–M) holotype lumbar, sacral, and caudal vertebrae in anterior views with left ilium (L) in lateral view; and (N–O) holotype right humerus.

Abbreviations: a, acetabulum; ac, anterior cingulum; acv, anterior cingular valley; an, angular process; co, coronoid process; cc, coronoid canal; dc, deltoid crest; f, frontal; gt, greater tubercle; h, humeral head; it, ischial tuberosity; j, jugal; lt, lesser tubercle; mcl+hy, metaconule + hypocone; me, metacone; ns, neural spine; p, parietal; pa, paracone; pmx, premaxilla; pr, protocone; ptp, posttympanic process; so, supraoccipital; sop, supraorbital process; sq, squamosal; tp, transverse process; tr, trochlea; zp, zygomatic process.

Salwasiren qatarensis gen. et sp. nov.

Type locality, horizon, and age: Al Maszhabiya bonebed, Lower Al-Kharrara Member of the Dam Formation, Aquitanian, 23.03–21.6 Ma.

Differential diagnosis: Salwasiren is a dugongine distinguished from other sirenians by the following combination of characters: nasal process of the premaxilla long, thin and tapering at posterior end (c.6[0], 7[0]) as in Crenatosiren olseni and Dugong dugon; supraorbital process of frontal dorsoventrally thick with a weakly developed posterolateral corner (c.36[1]), as in C. olseni and D. dugon; deep and narrow nasal incisure (c.37[1]) as in most dugongines; flat frontal roof (c.42[0], as in C. olseni, Italosiren bellunensis and Bharatisiren indica; supraoccipital wider ventrally than dorsally (c.23[1]) and exoccipitals not meeting along a dorsal suture (c.66[1]), as in Nanosiren spp. and D. dugon; ventral extremity of jugal under posterior edge of orbit (c.85[1]) and flat, thin preorbital process of jugal (c.88[0]), shared with C. olseni and Nanosiren spp.; short zygomatic process of the jugal (c.89[1]), as in Dioplotherium manigaulti and Xenosiren yucateca; ventral rim of orbit that does not overhang the lateral surface (c.90[0]), as in I. bellunensis and Callistosiren boriquensis; mandible with broad, subrectangular symphysis (c.121[3]); I1 alveolus small (c.140[0]) as in Nanosiren spp.; I1 with suboval cross section and enamel on all sides (c.141[0], 142[0]), as in C. olseni and N. sanchezi; pubis prong-like without symphysis (c.215[2]).

Etymology: “Salwa” after the Bay of Salwa, part of the transboundary habitat for dugongs in the Gulf combined with the Latin “siren”, referring to Sirenia. The species epithet honors its discovery in the State of Qatar.

 

Nicholas Pyenson, the curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and Ferhan Sakal, an archaeologist who is the head of excavation and site management at Qatar Museums, survey Al Maszhabiya with the fossil ribs of a 21-million-year-old sea cow in the foreground.

photo by Clare Fieseler

An artistic reconstruction of a herd of Salwasiren qatarensis sea cows foraging on the seafloor. In southwest Qatar, fossils of a new species of ancient sea cow, Salwasiren qatarensis, were found in 21-million-year-old rocks along with evidence of extinct sharks, barracuda-like fish, prehistoric dolphins and sea turtles.

Artwork: Alex Boersma

Nicholas D. Pyenson​, Ferhan Sakal, Jacques LeBlanc, Jon Blundell, Katherine D. Klim, Christopher D. Marshall, Jorge Velez-Juarbe, Katherine Wolfe and Faisal Al-Naimi. 2025. High Abundance of Early Miocene Sea Cows from Qatar shows repeated Evolution of Seagrass Ecosystem Engineers in Eastern Tethys.  PeerJ. 13:e20030. DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20030 [December 10, 2025]

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-trove-of-sea-cow-fossils-in-qatar-reveals-a-new-species-that-munched-on-seagrass-21-million-years-ago-180987820/