Arvicola mosbachensis (Schmidtgen 1911) of Mosbach 2: a basic sample for the early evolution of the genus and a reference for further biostratigraphical studies

Abstract

Arvicola materials from Mosbaeh 2, including the types of A. mosbachensis housed at the Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg Frankfurt am Main, are described. Six specimens display incipient root development. This population is therefore one of the oldest of the genus Arvicola. This is confirmed by SDQ and tooth length values indicating a primitive evolutionary stage. The age of the population correlates with either Cromer lnterglacial III or IV.The type material of Arvicola cantianus consists of a few fragmentary molars only. This scarce material does not permita clear assessment of the most significant features in middle Pleistocene populations, rootless molars with negative enamel differentiation, and is not clearly distinguishable flora either Mimomys savini of Arvicola terrestris. We therefore propose to restrict the name A. cantianus to the type material. All other middle Pleistocene Arvicola finds should be referred to A. mosbachensis.

Late Pleistocene voles (Arvicolinae, Rodentia) from the Baranica Cave (Serbia)

“…Lower values of the index (less than 100), such as these, are typical for geologically younger (Late Glacial and Holocene) and recent populations of Arvicola terrestris (Heinrich 1978(Heinrich , 1987. The dimensions of M 1 (average length greater than 4 mm) are also in agreement with the proposed young age of the populations from Baranica (the older populations had a somewhat smaller M 1 ; Maul et al 2000).…”

“…A gradual increase in length of this tooth was already well documented in many European populations (Maul et al 2000). According to Heinrich (1987), an average length of M 1 greater than 4 mm is characteristic for populations from the Late Weichselian.…”

Phenomenon in the Evolution of Voles (Mammalia, Rodentia, Arvicolidae)

“…It means that the development of arvicolid teeth is not a chaotic process, but limited to their morphology, which, together with the natural selection, is a guide mechanism for the evolution of this group. Th is is clearly visible in morphology of late Miocene rodents (Chaline, 1987;Chaline, Graf, 1988;Fejfar et al, 2011), and justifi ed for molars in the evolutionary lineage Allophaiomys-Microtus or Mimomys-Arvicola (Rabeder, 1981;Heinrich, 1990;Rekovets, 1990Rekovets, , 1994Maul et al, 2000).…”

Micromammals from the 1995 Mammoth Excavation at West Runton, Norfolk, UK: Morphometric data, biostratigraphy and taxonomic reappraisal

“…This evidence suggests that the transition from Mimomys to Arvicola in Western Europe took place before the end of the Cromerian Complex. Furthermore, the persistence of Arvicola throughout the Calcareous Member at Westbury and in later deposits at Boxgrove shows that the early (pre-MIS 12) part of the Arvicola Biozone must represent a long period of time with major climatic fluctuations, including at Recent analysis of the small mammals from Isernia, Italy (Koenigswald and van Kolfschoten, 1996) and Mosbach 2, Germany (Maul et al, 2000) has identified a transitional stage in the evolution of Arvicola from Mimomys. At these sites, the adult water vole molars are unrooted, but several show closure of the crown base, which indicates that crown formation had ceased in some adult individuals (Koenigswald and van Kolfschoten, 1996, Fig.…”

“…This stage in the formation of roots is found in the molars of young individuals of Mimomys from West Runton, but in the Mosbach and Isernia assemblages closure of the crown base forms late in development and is found only in some older individuals. The Isernia and Mosbach 2 water voles have been assigned to Arvicola (Koenigswald and van Kolfschoten, 1996;Maul et al, 2000), but arguments could be advanced for their inclusion in Mimomys . Significantly, molars with closure of the crown base are not found in the very large Arvicola samples from Miesenheim I, Westbury Cave (Calcareous Member) or Boxgrove.…”