Abstract

The suid material from four Turolian localities (MN11-13) in Bulgaria has been studied and compared. All specimens belong to Microstonyx major (Gervais, 1848), a common faunal element of the late Miocene South-East European faunas. The Greek and Bulgarian fossil record allows several suggestions to be made, concerning metrical and morphological features of Microstonyx major, as well as the species-level taxonomic diversity. The elaboration and evaluation of several characters allow us to distinguish three groups of M. major, in the Balkan territory. The first group (MN11-12) represents a small sized form, probably related with the Maragha suid (MN11). The second group (MN12-13) includes the typical M. major erymanthius and the third one M. major major (MN 13). The last two groups indicate relation between them, as well as with the latest Vallesian Microstonyx major from Nikiti (end of MN10). The first group of Microstonyx major from Perivolaki, Kerassia and Vathylakkos probably consists in new subspecies, characterized by small to medium sized toothrow, small third molar and relatively elongated premolar row. The molar row reduces from the early to the middle Turolian representatives of the group.

Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.