As one of the oldest known Eurasian fossil vertebrate localities, Samos late Miocene fauna attracted the interest of specialists by its richness and overall importance. Nevertheless, crucial taxonomical questions and chronological... more
As one of the oldest known Eurasian fossil vertebrate localities, Samos late Miocene fauna attracted the interest of specialists by its richness and overall importance. Nevertheless, crucial taxonomical questions and chronological problems obscured its value. The detailed study of the local stratigraphy, the collection of new fossil material and its study, the revision of the old collections and the updated magneto-chronology of the fossiliferous deposits permited to re-discuss most of the problems in a special volume edited in 2009 by Koufos and Nagel and to provide a clearer and more precise idea about the Samos fauna and its age. A synopsis of this work is given here. The systematic study of the new collection (1200 identified specimens) allows the determination of 42 species from three fossil horizons, ranging from the upper part of early Turolian (MN11) to the end of middle Turolian (MN12). Taxonomic novelties are the presence of the carnivore genus Protictitherium found for the first time in Samos, the establishment of the new name Skoufotragus for Pachytragus Schlosser with the new species Skoufotragus zemalisorum, and the amended morphology of Pseudomeriones and Urmiatherium. Additionally six Hipparion and four Gazella species were recognized and a better morphometric distinction between Samotherium boissieri and Samotherium major was performed. This study also improved the correlation of the old fossiliferous sites with the new ones and with the local stratigraphy of the Mytilinii Basin, while precise ages have been obtained for the mammal localities. The new data together with the old collections indicate the presence in Samos of four chronologically successive mammal assemblages reflecting a ‘‘four stages-of-evolution’’ scheme. The Turolian palaeoenvironment of Samos is determined as an open bushland with thick grassy-floor of C3 graminoids with possible increase of the open and dry character from the beginning to the end of Middle Turolian. The Samos mammal faunas are palaeobiogeographically closer to the Asian ones than to those from the Greek mainland.
Extract of the 74th SVP conference book of abstract related to the technical session on mammalian dietary ecology, chaired by Mark Clementz and Hervé Bocherens
Se presenta un estudio preliminar de la fauna de roedores fósiles de la localidad MAB-5 (Cuenca de Ribesalbes-Alcora, Castellón). La lista faunística preliminar la componen Democricetodon/Fahlbuschia sp., Megacricetodon cf. primitivus,... more
Se presenta un estudio preliminar de la fauna de roedores fósiles de la localidad MAB-5 (Cuenca de Ribesalbes-Alcora, Castellón). La lista faunística preliminar la componen Democricetodon/Fahlbuschia sp., Megacricetodon cf. primitivus, Glirudinus cf. modestus, Microdyromys sp., Pseudodryomys cf. julii, Myomiminae indet., Ligerimys ellipticus y Sciuridae indet. Además de roedores se han localizado restos de dos insectívoros distintos. La edad de la localidad MAB-5 es Aragoniense temprano (zona C, MN4).
... D. Koufos Corresponding Author Contact Information , a , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Dimitris S. Kostopoulos a , Theodora D. Vlachou a and ... Geological map of the Mytilinii Basin with location of the old and new fossiliferous... more
... D. Koufos Corresponding Author Contact Information , a , E-mail The Corresponding Author , Dimitris S. Kostopoulos a , Theodora D. Vlachou a and ... Geological map of the Mytilinii Basin with location of the old and new fossiliferous sites (geological map from Mountrakis et al., in ...
For over a century, a Neogene fossil mammal fauna has been known in the Irrawaddy Formation in central Myanmar. Unfortunately, the lack of accurately located fossiliferous sites and the absence of hominoid fossils have impeded... more
For over a century, a Neogene fossil mammal fauna has been known in the Irrawaddy Formation in central Myanmar. Unfortunately, the lack of accurately located fossiliferous sites and the absence of hominoid fossils have impeded paleontological studies. Here we describe the first hominoid found in Myanmar together with a Hipparion (sl) associated mammal fauna from Irrawaddy Formation deposits dated between 10.4 and 8.8 Ma by biochronology and magnetostratigraphy. This hominoid documents a new species of ...
