Eocene Pachynolophinae (Perissodactyla, Palaeotheriidae) from China, and their palaeobiogeographical implications

Bai, Bin

doi:10.1111/pala.12319

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…More recent study, however, suggested that ‘ P .’ hengyangensis resembles Danjiangia based on p3-m2 morphology 32 . Both Danjiangia and ‘ Propalaeotherium ’ sinense have striking similarities to Lambdotherium , a basal brontothere 43 . However, we suggest that the three specimens that Ting referred to ‘ P .’ hengyangensis probably represent at least two different groups of perissodactyls.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The divergence and dispersal of early perissodactyls as evidenced by early Eocene equids from Asia

2018

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The earliest perissodactyls are represented by some basal equoid fossils from Euramerica near the Paleocene/Eocene boundary. Unequivocal early equoids have yet to be reported from the early Eocene of Asia, although other groups of early perissodactyls were indeed present in Asia. Here we report the earliest Eocene Asian equid, Erihippus tingae gen. et sp. nov., based on partial specimens initially assigned to the ceratomorph Orientolophus hengdongensis, from the Hengyang Basin of Hunan Province, China. The specimens previously assigned to ‘Propachynolophus’ hengyangensis from the same Lingcha fauna are split and now reassigned as an ancylopod Protomoropus? hengyangensis and a brontothere Danjiangia lambdodon sp. nov. The nearly simultaneous appearance of equids, ceratomorphs, ancylopods, and brontotheres in the Hengyang Basin suggests that the four main groups of perissodactyls diverged as early as, or no later than, the beginning of the Eocene (about 56 Ma), and displayed different dispersal scenarios during the early Eocene.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The divergence and dispersal of early perissodactyls as evidenced by early Eocene equids from Asia

2018

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“…to MP20) Western Europe was isolated from Northern Europe by the North Sea and Northern Europe from Asia by the Turgaï Strait [ 16 , 18 , 112 , 139 – 141 ]. Regarding South Alpine-Carpathian Europe, it was mostly disconnected from the rest of Europe by the Perialpine and Paratethys seas—they may have been in connection at some point [ 142 , 143 ]—but connected to Asia [ 112 , 140 , 141 ]. Perissodactyl faunas in this part of Europe seem more similar to those found in Asia (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New data on Amynodontidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Eastern Europe: Phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographic implications around the Eocene-Oligocene transition

et al. 2018

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Amynodontidae is a family of Rhinocerotoidea (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) known from the late Early Eocene to the latest Oligocene, in North America and Eurasia. European Amynodontidae are very rare, and all remains belong almost exclusively to a single post—Grande Coupure genus from the Oligocene, Cadurcotherium. The “Grande Coupure” defines an extinctions and dispersal-generated originations event in Europe that is nearly contemporaneous with the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Perissodactyls are one of the major groups affected by this event: Palaeotheriidae went almost extinct during this crisis, whereas Rhinocerotidae appeared for the first time in Europe. Study of fossiliferous Eastern-European localities from this age is crucial for the understanding of this crisis. We report here three new localities of Amynodontidae in Eastern Europe. Two of them are dated from the Eocene (Morlaca, Romania; Dorog, Hungary), whereas the other is either Late Eocene or Early Oligocene (Dobârca, Romania). The skull from this latter locality belongs unexpectedly to the same individual as a previously described mandible attributed to “Cadurcodon” zimborensis. As a result, this specimen can be allocated to its proper locality, Dobârca, and is assigned to a new genus, Sellamynodon gen. nov. It is characterised by an extraordinary growth of the nuchal crest, a unique character among amynodontids. Along with this remarkable material from Dobârca, two specimens from another Romanian locality, Morlaca, have been recently discovered and are dated from the Late Eocene. They belong, as well as new material from Dorog (Middle Eocene, Hungary), to the genus Amynodontopsis, also found in North America. The new Hungarian material represents the earliest occurrence of Amynodontidae in Europe. New phylogenetic hypotheses of Rhinocerotoidea are proposed, including the new material presented here, and show that Amynodontidae may be closer to the polyphyletic family ʽHyracodontidaeʼ than to Rhinocerotidae. Amynodontidae, with their deep preorbital fossa and extremely reduced premolars, display in fact a very derived condition, compared to rhinocerotids.

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“…The Palaeotheriidae include both tetradactyl and tridactyl members (Agusti and Anton 2004;Franzen 2006Franzen , 2010bDanilo et al 2013), and as a result may be expected to demonstrate a high degree of morphological variation in the forelimb. The first descriptions of palaeotheres are those of the currently recognized Palaeotheriinae (Cuvier 1812), a monophyletic clade which includes the genera Palaeotherium and Plagiolophus (Danilo et al 2013;Remy 2015;Bai 2017). These two genera are both functionally tridactyl palaeothere clades; however, despite their close phylogenetic affinity, they demonstrate high morphological diversity within the forelimb (Figs 2, 5 and 6).…”

Section: Locomotor Diversity Within Palaeotheriinaementioning

confidence: 99%

Modern Tapirs as Morphofunctional Analogues for Locomotion in Endemic Eocene European Perissodactyls

Maclaren

Nauwelaerts

2019

J Mammal Evol

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Tapirs have historically been considered as ecologically analogous to several groups of extinct perissodactyls based on dental and locomotor morphology. Here, we investigate comparative functional morphology between living tapirs and endemic Eocene European perissodactyls to ascertain whether tapirs represent viable analogues for locomotion in palaeotheres and lophiodontids.Forelimb bones from 20 species of Eocene European perissodactyls were laser scanned and compared to a forelimb dataset of extant Tapirus. Bone shape was quantified using 3D geometric morphometrics; coordinates were Procrustes aligned and compared using Principal Component Analysis and neighbor-joining trees. Functional traits included lever-arm ratios (LARs; proxy for joint angular velocity), long-bone proportions (speed proxy), and estimated body mass. Results suggest that Paralophiodon and Palaeotherium magnum resemble Neotropical tapirs in humeral morphology and LARs. Palaeotheres demonstrate extensive forelimb shape disparity. Despite previous assessments, metacarpal shape analyzes do not support a strong morphological similarity between palaeotheres and tapirs, with Tapirus pinchaque representing the closest analogue for Eocene European equoid manus morphology. Our analyzes suggest lophiodontids were not capable of moving as swiftly as tapirs due to greater loading over the manus. We conclude that the variation within modern tapir forelimb morphology confounds the assignment of one living analogue within Tapirus for extinct European equoids, whereas tapirs adapted for greater loading over the manus (e.g., T. bairdii, T. indicus) represent viable locomotor analogues for lophiodontids. This study represents a valuable first step toward locomotor simulation and behavioral inference for both hippomorph and tapiromorph perissodactyls in Eocene faunal communities.

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Eocene Pachynolophinae (Perissodactyla, Palaeotheriidae) from China, and their palaeobiogeographical implications

Cited by 12 publications

References 46 publications

The divergence and dispersal of early perissodactyls as evidenced by early Eocene equids from Asia

The divergence and dispersal of early perissodactyls as evidenced by early Eocene equids from Asia

New data on Amynodontidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Eastern Europe: Phylogenetic and palaeobiogeographic implications around the Eocene-Oligocene transition

Modern Tapirs as Morphofunctional Analogues for Locomotion in Endemic Eocene European Perissodactyls

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