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Anchitherium aurelianense (Equidae, Mammalia): a brachydont “dirty browser” in the community of herbivorous large mammals from Sandelzhausen (Miocene, Germany)

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Abstract

The Anchitheriinae are an extinct subfamily of Equidae that first appeared in North America near the base of the Miocene. Anchitheriinae are found in subtropical to warm temperate habitats and were long considered to be adapted to eating browse. In Europe the genus Anchitherium first occurred in the MN3 mammal zone and became extinct in MN9. The assemblage from Sandelzhausen (Early/Middle Miocene, boundary MN5) is one of the best dental samples known of Old World Anchitherium. The mesowear method was applied to reconstruct the dietary regime of A. aurelianense from Sandelzhausen. Hierarchical cluster statistics and principal component analysis was performed on mesowear variables. Thirty-five upper cheek teeth of A. aurelianense were analysed, and mesowear signatures compared with those of five ruminant species from Sandelzhausen. The extant analogue species indicate that A. aurelianense at Sandelzhausen had a diet similar in abrasiveness to that of extant mixed feeders and that the Sandelzhausen ruminants all occupied a browsing niche with little or no abrasives in their diet. Knowing now that brachydont anchitheres were able to cope with rather abrasive diets, it is assumed that hypsodont North American equids of the Cormohipparion clade, arriving in Europe successively with the extinction of anchitheres shortly after the “hipparion datum” in the MN9, introduced a new component of competition in their dietary niche. The extinction of the Anchitheriidae can now be better understood as response to this competition.

Kurzfassung

Die Anchitheriinae sind eine ausgestorbene Unterfamilie der Equidae, die erstmals in Nordamerika an der Basis des Miozäns erscheinen. Anchitheriinae treten in subtropischen bis warm gemäßigten Lebensräumen auf und wurden lange Zeit als gut angepasste Konzentratfresser (browser) angesehen. In Europa trat die Gattung Anchitherium erstmals im MN3 auf und starb im MN9 wieder aus. Das Material von Sandelzhausen (Grenzbereich Unter-/Mittelmiozän, MN5) umfasst eine der besten Stichproben des altweltlichen Anchitherium. Die Mesowear-Methode wurde angewandt, um das Nahrungsregime von A. aurelianense von Sandelzhausen zu untersuchen. Auf Basis der Mesowearvariablen wurden hierarchische Cluster-Statistik und PCA durchgeführt. Fünfunddreißig obere Backenzähne von A. aurelianense wurden analysiert und die Mesowearsignaturen mit jenen der fünf Ruminantierarten von Sandelzhausen verglichen. Die Ernährungsstrategien der rezenten Vergleichsarten zeigen an, dass A. aurelianense von Sandelzhausen eine ähnlich abrasive Diät hatte wie rezente Mischkostfresser, und dass alle Ruminantier von Sandelzhausen die Nische von Konzentratfressern innehatten. Nachdem nun bekannt ist, dass niederkronige Anchitherien in der Lage waren mit verhältnismäßig abrasiver Pflanzennahrung zurechtkommen, wird postuliert, dass hypsodonte nordamerikanische Equiden aus der Cormohipparion-Gruppe, die Europa kurz nach dem “Hipparion-Datum” im MN9 erreichten, in der Folge als neue Konkurrenten in der Ernährungsnische der Anchitherien auftraten. Das Aussterben der Anchitheriidae kann daher als Antwort auf diese Konkurrenz verstanden werden.

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Acknowledgments

The Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie in Munich, particular Kurt Heißig, is thanked for access to the specimens investigated. Gertrud Rössner (Munich) is gratefully acknowledged for inviting the author to attend the Sandelzhausen Symposium held in Mainburg in September 2005 and for helpful edits of an earlier version of this manuscript. Raymond L. Bernor and Florent Rivals reviewed the manuscript and provided comments and suggestions that greatly improved this contribution. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is acknowledged for providing funds to attend the symposium (DFG GZ-4850/88/05).

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    Thomas M. Kaiser

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Kaiser, T.M. Anchitherium aurelianense (Equidae, Mammalia): a brachydont “dirty browser” in the community of herbivorous large mammals from Sandelzhausen (Miocene, Germany). Paläontol Z 83, 131–140 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-009-0002-z

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