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Re-interpretation of the genus Parabunodon (Ypresian, Turkey): implications for the evolution and distribution of pleuraspidotheriid mammals

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Abstract

Early Paleogene mammal faunas from western Asia remain very poorly documented, and the few fossil data currently available raise more issues than they provide answers regarding the palaeobiogeography of the Peri-Tethys area during a key period for the diversification and dispersal of modern group of mammals. Parabunodon anatolicum is an ungulate mammal whose both age and taxonomic affinities are disputable. The holotype of this monotypic genus was collected from the early? Eocene Çeltek Formation, Central Anatolia, Amasya Province, and described as a choeropotamid artiodactyl, making it the easternmost occurrence of the family which is mostly restricted to the middle–late Eocene of western Europe. Here, we revisit the relationships of Parabunodon anatolicum in the light of recent studies. The reassessment of dental features of this genus as well as of its phylogenetic relationships led us to reconsider the taxonomic assignment of this still enigmatic form. Cladistic analysis was undertaken to understand its relationships with the Pleuraspidotheriidae and the Choeropotamidae, in which Parabunodon had earlier been included. Our analysis supports the relationships of Parabunodon with other pleuraspidotheriids. It implies an early diversification and a vast geographic distribution from western Europe to Anatolia of pleuraspidotheriid ‘condylarths’ during the early Paleogene.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the organisation committee of the congress ‘The world at the time of Messel’. We are grateful to Serdar Mayda (Ege University, Izmir) for taking photographs of the specimen re-interpreted in this paper. G.M. thanks Fabrice Fack for his help with TNT, and all the members of the 2011 field crew that investigated early Paleogene clastics of Anatolia, including the Suluova Basin: KC Beard, Y Islamoğlu, K Sözeri, K Erturaç, Mustapha Koç, K Esat, and A Deveciler. This collaborative project is supported by the MTA-Ankara, the Darius Program, and the Centre Nationale de la Recherche Scientifique-Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers-Interrevie Program. We thank the editor and the referees (J.J. Hooker, and S. Ladevèze) for their constructive remarks on the initial version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7207-CR2P, CP 38, 8, rue Buffon, 75231, Paris cedex 05, France

    Grégoire Métais, Emmanuel Gheerbrant & Sevket Sen

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  1. Grégoire Métais
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  2. Emmanuel Gheerbrant
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  3. Sevket Sen
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Correspondence to Grégoire Métais.

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This article is a contribution to the special issue “Messel and the terrestrial Eocene—Proceedings of the 22nd Senckenberg Conference”

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Métais, G., Gheerbrant, E. & Sen, S. Re-interpretation of the genus Parabunodon (Ypresian, Turkey): implications for the evolution and distribution of pleuraspidotheriid mammals. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 92, 477–486 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-012-0095-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-012-0095-3

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