Small vertebrates from the upper Miocene hominoid-bearing site of Udabno, Georgia

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe locality of Udabno, Georgia, preserves material referred to the hominoid primate Dryopithecus. In this study, we describe the microvertebrate fauna from the site, which includes fishes (Scardinius sp., Carassius sp.), anurans (Pelophylax sp.), squamates (Lacertidae indet., Ophidia indet.), insectivores (Schizogalerix sinapensis, Turiasorex cf. pierremeini), and rodents (Byzantinia pikermiensis, Hansdebruijnia erksinae, Vasseuromys pannonicus). The association of two rodents, the cricetid B. pikermiensis and the murid H. erksinae, constrains the age of the Udabno fauna more precisely than previous studies. Byzantinia pikermiensis was first recognized at the site of Pikermi, Chomateri, and later recovered in other sites from Turkey, including the hominid-bearing site of Çorakyerler. The murid H. erksinae was also described from Çorakyerler in Turkey. Therefore, the presence of these rodents at Udabno indicates that the fauna postdates late Vallesian faunas such as Biodrak, Greece, and Bayraktepe II, Turkey, which are characterized by the association of the more archaic species Byzantinia nikosi and Progonomys cathalai. This study demonstrates that Udabno is temporally equivalent to typical Turolian sites from the Mediterranean area, such as Pikermi, Çorakyerler, and Crevillente 2.