New Melissiodontinae (Mammalia, Rodentia) from the Paleogene of south-east Serbia

Wilma Wessels,Andrew A Van De Weerd,Hans De Bruijn,Zoran Marković

doi:10.1007/s12549-017-0311-2

Wilma Wessels, Andrew A Van De Weerd + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-017-0311-2

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Abstract

Isolated teeth of Melissiodontinae from two Eocene and four Oligocene localities in southeastern Serbia are described. One new genus and two new species are named. The study of the derived morphology of the cheek teeth and of the contrastingly primordial microstructure of the tooth enamel of this diverse material provides a glimpse into the early history of the subfamily. The supposedly Asian murid ancestor of the Melissiodontinae seems to have reached the Serbian-Macedonian land area during the early or middle Eocene, which is shortly after the split up of the Muridae and Dipodidae and before the ‘Grande Coupure’ of central and Western Europe. We interpret the rapid consequent specialisation of the morphology of the chewing apparatus of the Melissiodontinae as an adaptation to feeding on small invertebrates on the floor of the Eocene forest.

Highlights

The subfamily Melissiodontinae is in Europe represented by only one genus: Melissiodon Schaub, 1925, known from fossil assemblages dated between the late early Oligocene (MP23) to early Miocene (MN4) and includes nine species (Hrubesch 1957)
The morphological diversity observed indicate that the Melissiodontinae were already diverse and highly specialised in the late Eocene and early Oligocene in this area (Table 1)
Abbreviations and terminology used in the description of the microstructure of enamel are enamel dentine junction (EDJ), Hunter-Schreger band (HSB), angle between the HSB and the normal to the EDJ, portio interna (PI), portio externa (PE), outer enamel surface (OES), external enamel layer without prims (PLEX), inter prismatic matrix (IPM), enamel with parallel prisms that are at right angles to the EDJ and basal ring of lamellar enamel in the molars (BRLE)

Summary

Introduction

The subfamily Melissiodontinae is in Europe represented by only one genus: Melissiodon Schaub, 1925, known from fossil assemblages dated between the late early Oligocene (MP23) to early Miocene (MN4) and includes nine species (Hrubesch 1957). Is known from the Anatolian assemblage of Kargı-1 dated latest Oligocene-earliest Miocene (de Bruijn et al 2013). The other genus belonging in this subfamily, Edirnella Ünay-Bayraktar, 1989, is known from the late Eocene of Süngülü (Lesser Caucasus; de Bruijn et al 2003) and from two localities in the Thrace basin (MP25, Ünay-Bayraktar 1989). The samples of isolated teeth of melissiodontines were collected in the Babušnica-Koritnica and Pčinja basins from two Eocene localities, Zvonce and Buštranje, and from five early Oligocene sites of Strelac-1, -2 and -3 Valniš and Raljin. 100 330 21 1363 fossil content and methods of sample treatment is described in de Bruijn et al (in press)

Material and methods

Discussion

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