Gazella is one of the most species‐rich genera within horned ruminants. Despite overall similarity in body size and morphology, gazelles show variability in coloration and horn morphology. Unfortunately, however, species differentiation based on these characters, or on discrete skull characters, is very difficult due to high intraspecific variability. Furthermore, most species have fragmented and allopatric distributions, so that species boundaries were hard to define in the past. Mitochondrial DNA sequences have proven useful for investigating gazelle taxonomy in recent years, but especially for old museum material, i.e. type specimens, destructive sampling is often impossible. We provide a comprehensive morphometric framework for the genus Gazella based on linear skull measurements reconciled with results from molecular phylogenetic analysis based on the largest dataset available so far. In particular for males, the skull morphology shows interspecific differences concurrent with DNA data and provides a reliable tool for species identification. Based on morphometric data we synonymize G. karamii with G. marica, and confirm the identification of the G. arabica and G. a. rueppelli type skulls from analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London

a b s t r a c tGazella arabica Lichtenstein, 1827, a gazelle species currently classified as "data deficient" on the IUCN Red List, has puzzled researchers for more than a century. The type specimens have repeatedly been classified as subspecies of G. gazella, G. dorcas or a distinct species since their first description about 180 years ago. Especially the skull is causing problems, as no similar gazelle individual has ever been found. We unravel the identity of G. arabica by sequencing two mitochondrial markers from the skull and skin which constitute the G. arabica lectotype and by performing a phylogenetic analysis of the genus. The results show that the lectotype skull and skin are not derived from the same animal. They belong to two individuals representing the two monophyletic lineages within the Mountain gazelle clade, Gazella gazella. By tracing the taxonomic history of G. arabica and following the rules of the ICZN we are able to resolve the hypodigm of G. arabica.

The older part of the Upper Freshwater Molasse (OSM) in the Swiss and South GermanMolasse Basin records the extended warm period known as the Miocene Climate Optimum.However, dating and global correlation of fossils and palaeoclimatic data from OSM sediments remains challenging, because sections are often incomplete and biostratigraphic data sometimes ambiguous. Here we present the rare case of a fossiliferous OSM section that can be securely dated to the late Early Miocene and early Middle Miocene (c. 16.1-15.7 Ma).