A new lophocyonid,Izmirictis canigen. et sp. nov. (Carnivora: Mammalia), from the lower Miocene of Turkey

Abstract

Lophocyonids are one of the more enigmatic groups of Carnivora in the European Miocene fossil record. Lophocyonids are clearly distinguished from other Feliformia by their peculiar lophodont dental morphology. For this reason, the systematic relationships of the family have been controversial. Here we describe and interpret dental remains from the early Miocene of Sabuncubeli, Turkey, which we attribute to a new genus and species: Izmirictis cani. The phylogenetic analysis allows us to include Izmirictis within a monophyletic group, Lophocyonidae new rank, characterized by the molarization of the anterior premolars (P3 and p4), the lophodont adaptation of the molar dentition and the complex morphology of the incisors. The phylogenetic analysis shows a close relationship between Izmirictis and primitive hyaenids (represented herein by Protictitherium). The divergence between Lophocyonidae and Hyaenidae is estimated by biochronological data to have occurred during the early Miocene (MN2). Dental microwear analysis, although limited by poor dental enamel preservation, indicates that the pronounced lophodonty in Izmirictis cani could be connected to a herbivorous feeding habit.

Coprolites in natural traps: direct evidence of bone‐eating carnivorans from the Late Miocene Batallones‐3 site, Madrid, Spain

“…The size and morphology of this coprolite appear to indicate that several carnivorans that could have produced it. The first and most probable carnivoran is Protictitherium crassum, a small-mediumsized carnivoran situated at the base of the Hyaenidae (Fraile 2016(Fraile , 2017Morales et al 2019). This coprolite morphology is similar to that of small hyenas such as Proteles cristatus (Stuart & Stuart 1994) and its size fits well with the ones produced by medium-to-large viverrids (Chame 2003).…”

The Evolving Taxonomy of Progressive Creation

“…With the discovery of new fossil evidence and the establishment of more accurate molecular dates, the complex continuity of evolutionary change becomes more and more evident. In 2019 Jorge Morales identified Izmirictis cani as a transitional form between early Feliformia and Lophocyonidae, an extinct taxon only recognized as a Feliformia sub-family in 1987 (Morales et al 2019). Also in 2019, Manuel Salesa argued that a species that had previously been assigned to Styriofelis should be reclassified as Leptofelis vallesiensis and is a transitional form in the Felinae lineage.…”

The antiquity of Asian chameleons—first potential Chamaeleonidae and associated squamate fauna from the Lower and Middle Miocene of Anatolia

“…1). It is the first Early Miocene fossil micromammal locality described in the Izmir Region of western Anatolia and is also one of the first sites that has yielded both diverse macro-and micromammal fauna (Mayda, 2004(Mayda, , 2010De Bruijn et al, 2006;Kaya et al, 2007;Morales et al, 2019)-other reptiles from Sabuncubeli included so far solely anguine lizards (C ̌ernǎnský et al, 2017b). The whole fauna was collected from the uppermost mudrock interval of the Soma Formation while the macromammals were collected from the 50-cm thick fine-grained, sub-mature conglomerate lenses and from the marly upper part (Mayda, 2010).…”