Article: A new amphicyonine (Carnivora: Amphicyonidae) from the Upper Miocene of Batallones-1, Madrid, Spain
Publication: Palaeontology
Volume:
51
Part:
4
Publication Date:
July
2008
Page(s):
943
–
965
Author(s):
Stéphane Peigné, Manuel J. Salesa, Mauricio Antón and Jorge Morales
Abstract
The vertebrate community of the late Miocene locality of Batallones-1, Madrid Province, Spain, is mainly composed of mammals of the order Carnivora, which represents 98 per cent of the total number of macro-mammal fossils. Here, we describe craniodental remains of approximately 12 individuals of a new, highly specialized member of the Amphicyonidae, previously assigned to Amphicyon sp. cf. A. castellanus. A phylogenetic analysis of Amphicyoninae shows that this new form, named Magericyon anceps gen. et sp. nov., is markedly distinct from all other known Amphicyoninae, specifically in its hypercarnivorous features (strongly compressed upper canines, absence of dP1/dp1 and P2/p2, single-rooted p3, absence of a metaconid on the lower molars, and reduction of M2 relative to M1).
KEYWORDS
Carnivora • Amphicyonidae • Spain • Miocene • Vallesian • carnivore trap • Batallones