A new species of Eomellivora from the latest Aragonian of Abocador de Can Mata (NE Iberian Peninsula)

Abstract

Eomellivora is a large-bodied mellivorine mustelid genus widely distributed throughout Eurasia and North America during the late Miocene (MN9-MN13). Here, we report the oldest Eurasian material of Eomellivora based on a palate and two mandibular fragments from ACM/PTA-A2, a pre-Vallesian (11.21 Ma; latest MN7+8) locality of Abocador de Can Mata (Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula) that slightly predates the first appearance datum of Hippotherium by ~30 kyr. The described material differs from Hoplictis helbingi-another large mustelid recorded within the same basin in the roughly coeval site of Castell de Barberà (~11.2, earliest MN9)-and more closely resembles Eomellivora spp.Despite closer resemblances in both size and dental shape with the Vallesian (MN9-MN10) species Eomellivora piveteaui, the ACM material differs from multiple features that may be considered plesiomorphic. A new species, Eomellivora moralesi sp. nov., is thus erected based on the described material. A cladistic analysis confirms that the new species occupies a basal-most position within the Eomellivora clade, in agreement with its older age and more plesiomorphic morphology.

The exceptionally high diversity of small carnivorans from the Late Miocene hominid locality of Hammerschmiede (Bavaria, Germany)

“…Other included species: Eomellivora fricki (Pia, 1939) [ 94 ]; Eomellivora hungarica Kretzoi, 1942 [ 95 ]; Eomellivora ursogulo (Orlov, 1948) [ 96 ]; Eomellivora piveteaui Ozansoy, 1965 [ 97 ]; Eomellivora moralesi Alba et al, 2022 [ 98 ].…”

“…The Hammerschmiede material represents the earliest record of the genus (HAM 5; 11.62 Ma; [ 1 ] ), given the fact that the type locality of E . moralesi from Abocador de Can Mata (ACM/PTA-A2) has been dated to 11.21 Ma [ 98 ]. The species E .…”

“…wimani (MN 12–13) and E . hungarica (MN 13) [ 98 , 99 ]. It must be mentioned that [ 101 ] proposed an alternative, more simplistic approach, considering that only E .…”

“…Eomellivora moralesi is known based on a complete maxilla with P2–M1, and fragmentary hemimandibles including complete p2 and m2, and a broken p3 from the locality of Can Mata, dated to 11.21 Ma [ 98 ]. Consequently, only the alveolus of the I3, part of the p3, and the complete m2 are directly comparable.…”

“…The measurements of the I3 alveolus of E . moralesi [ 98 ] are to some extent different from those of GPIT/MA/09877 ( Table 9 ), but as seen in [ 98 ] the alveolus is clearly mediolaterally compressed. Therefore, the measurements given in [ 98 ] do not fit with the depicted morphology.…”