Miocene chevrotains (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Tragulidae) from Pakistan

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Miocene tragulid species from Siwalik sediments in Asia have been repeatedly studied since Lydekker erected them in 1876. Here, we describe and interpret new dental material of Tragulidae collected in the Potwar Plateau (northern Pakistan). The material belongs to four of the seven species previously known from the Siwaliks: Dorcatherium nagrii, Dt. minus, Dt. majus, and Dorcabune anthracotheroides. In addition, we identified Dt. naui and Dt. guntianum, previously exclusively recorded from Europe, and established Dorcatherium dehmi n. sp. Our morphometric analysis went beyond the traditional method of identifying tragulid species basically by size, and included tooth crown height as well as related morphological features. Hence, we were able to differentiate between species that before were considered conspecific, because of overlapping size. With this we set standards for future studies on fossil tragulids, which, apart from size, have to take into account morphological features, especially of premolars, deciduous cheek teeth, and postcrania to differentiate among tragulid species, to understand overall relationships of extinct and extant representatives, and to establish coherent systematics of the group. LSIDurn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:47D5143A-AE8D-4BE6-9CED-1284012DB583