A new species ofMyotragusBate, 1909 (Artiodactyla, Caprinae) from the Early Pliocene of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean)

Abstract

Myotragus palomboi n.sp. (Artiodactyla, Caprinae) is described from the Early Pliocene of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean). This species is the earliest representative of the Myotragus lineage known to date in the Balearic Islands. A metatarsal, and several teeth and postcranial remains were found in a karstic deposit located on the east coast of the island, near Caló den Rafelino (Manacor), together with remains of Hypolagus, two rodent species, an insectivore and several reptiles. The metatarsal and phalanges of the new bovid are short and robust and display a combination of characters only observed in Myotragus. The presence of a larger p2, a metatarsal robustness index lower than in M. pepgonellae (the earliest known species to date), together with the morphology of the incisors, all suggest that M. palomboi should be considered as the ancestor of M. pepgonellae. Short metapodials and the reduction of p2 displayed by M. palomboi could be linked to a first stage of evolution in insular conditions. The arrival of this bovid to the island of Mallorca probably took place during the Mediterranean Messinian Salinity Crisis (Late Miocene, 5.6–5.32 Ma ago). Although the relationship of the new taxon to other fossil caprines cannot be definitively established, it could be phylogenetically close to the Late Miocene European species Aragoral mudejar and Norbertia hellenica.

The Cova des Pas de Vallgornera (Llucmajor, Mallorca): a singular deposit bearing an exceptional well preserved Early Pleistocene vertebrate fauna

“…Between M. pepgonellae and M. balearicus, the other taxa of Myotragus display a progressive As mentioned above, in the evolution of the Myotragus lineage a progressive reduction of size and number of premolars have been identified . M. palomboi, as other caprines, displayed a slightly reduced p2 (Bover et al, 2010a), and although no other lower premolars for this species are available, it is reasonable to assume that displayed a dentition similar to other mainland caprines (i.e., fully developed premolars). M. pepgonellae already displayed an important reduction of the p2, although present (Moyà-Solà & Pons-Moyà, 1982), whereas in M. antiquus and M. kopperi this teeth is already lost (Pons-Moyà, 1977;Moyà-Solà & Pons-Moyà, 1981).…”

“…Eulipotyphla), and Podarcis (Lacertidae, Squamata), while a Vipera survived at least until the Late Pliocene. Other terrestrial vertebrates recorded so far in two Mallorcan Early Pliocene deposits, Caló den Rafelino and Na Burguesa-1, i.e., up to three mammals (a leporid, a cricetid, and a murid), up to eight reptiles (a viperid, a colubrid, a scindid, an anguid, a large lacertid, a gekkonid, a scolecophidian, and a tortoise) (Bailon et al, 2010Bover et al, 2007Bover et al, , 2010aBover et al, , 2014Quintana et al, 2010;Agustí et al, 2012), have not been recorded in fossil deposits with a post-Early Pliocene chronology of Mallorca.…”

“…Up to six chronospecies of Myotragus have been identified in Mallorca: M. palomboi from the earlier Early Pliocene (Bover et al, 2010a) (Crusafont & Angel, 1966), and M. balearicus from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene (Bate, 1909).…”

“…In this sense, the most recent species, M. balearicus, displayed a single evergrowing incisor in each hemimandible (Bate, 1909), while the Early-Late Pliocene species, M. pepgonellae had four (Moyà-Solà & Pons-Moyà, 1982). No complete mandible with incisors is available for the oldest Myotragus species from the Early Pliocene, M. palomboi (Bover et al, 2010a). Between M. pepgonellae and M. balearicus, the other taxa of Myotragus display a progressive As mentioned above, in the evolution of the Myotragus lineage a progressive reduction of size and number of premolars have been identified .…”

First comprehensive morphological analysis on the metapodials of Giraffidae

“…Using these measurements, we also calculate the robustness index (RI), which is calculated using the following formula: RI = Midshaft minimum transverse diameter/ Length * 100 This index is commonly used in studies concerning allometry and biomechanics to represent the robustness of the bone (Hamilton, 1978;Bover et al, 2010;Fragomeni and Prothero, 2011;Woodman and Gaffney, 2014).…”