Fodonyx spenceri

June 20, 2021, 4:15 pm

Fodonyx spenceri (Benton, 1990) Hone & Benton, 2008

Systematics: Reptilia Archosauromorpha Crocopoda Rhynchosauria Rhynchosauridae

Size: 0.5 m long
Type Horizon and Locality: Middle Triassic, Otter Sandstone Formation, Sherwood Sandstone Group (Anisian) England, UK
Type Specimen: EXEMS 60/1985.292, a partial skull.

Fodonyx ("digging claw") was a small rhynchosaur from the Middle Triassic of England. It was originally described as a species of the genus Rhynchosaurus.

June 20, 2021

References:

Hone, D. W., & Benton, M. J. (2008). A new genus of rhynchosaur from the Middle Triassic of south‐west England. Palaeontology, 51(1), 95-115.

All illustrations on this site are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura. The low resolution versions of the images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license meaning that you are free to use them as long as you properly credit the author (© N. Tamura). High resolution versions are available upon request. Questions: contact me at nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com.

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Coeruleodraco jurassicus

June 20, 2021, 4:29 pm

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Coeruleodraco jurassicus Matsumoto et al., 2019

Systematics: Reptilia Choristodera

Size: 0.4 m long
Type Horizon and Locality: Late Jurassic, Tiaojishan Formation (Oxfordian) Qinglong county, Hebei Province, China
Type Specimen: IVPP V 23318, a nearly complete and articulated skeleton

Coeruleodraco ("Blue dragon") is the most complete and earliest known Jurassic Choristodere, a small group of aquatic freshwater reptiles. The other Jurassic Choristodere, Cteniogenys, from the Morrison Formation is only known from very fragmentary remains. Its generic name derives from the name of the Qinglong ("blue dragon") county of the Hebei Province, where the fossil was found.

June 20, 2021

References:

Matsumoto, R., Dong, L., Wang, Y., & Evans, S. E. (2019). The first record of a nearly complete choristodere (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Upper Jurassic of Hebei Province, People’s Republic of China. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 17(12), 1031-1048.

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Sobrarbesiren cardieli

June 27, 2021, 6:38 pm

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Sobrarbesiren cardieli Díaz-Berenguer et al, 2018

Systematics: Mammalia Afrotheria Tethytheria Sirenia

Size: 2.2 m long
Type Horizon and Locality: Late Eocene, Sobrarbe Formation (Lutetian) Huesca, Spain
Type Specimen: MPZ 2017/1, a complete skull of a subadult

Today's sirenians (sea cows and manatees) are fully aquatic marine mammals who lost their back legs and developed a horizontal caudal fin. However they descended from fully terrestrial forms that share a common ancestry with elephants. Sobrarbesiren was one such transitional form still retaining four legs but already mostly aquatic. It is the first quadrupedal sirenian described from Europe.

June 27, 2021

References:

Díaz-Berenguer, E., Badiola, A., Moreno-Azanza, M., & Canudo, J. I. (2018). First adequately-known quadrupedal sirenian from Eurasia (Eocene, Bay of Biscay, Huesca, northeastern Spain). Scientific reports, 8(1), 1-13.

Díaz-Berenguer, E., Houssaye, A., Badiola, A., & Canudo, J. I. (2020). The hind limbs of Sobrarbesiren cardieli (Eocene, Northeastern Spain) and new insights into the locomotion capabilities of the quadrupedal sirenians. Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 27(4), 649-675.

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Homo longi

June 27, 2021, 9:58 pm

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Homo longi Ji et al., 2021

Systematics: Mammalia Primates Haplorhini Hominidae Homininae Hominini

Size: ? 1.8 m tall
Type Horizon and Locality: Middle Plesitocene, upper part of the Upper Huangshan Formation, Heilongjiang Province, China
Type Specimen: HBSM2018-000018(A), a skull

Dragon Man (Homo longi) is a recently discovered ancient human known from a nearly complete skull. Characterized a low, long and robust skull with a large nasal opening, it was adapted to the cold climates of the Pleistocene Ice Ages.

June 27, 2021

References:

Ji, Q.; Wu, W.; Ji, Y.; Li, Q.; Ni, X. (2021). Late Middle Pleistocene Harbin cranium represents a new Homo species. The Innovation. Commentary. 2.

Ni, X.; Ji, Q.; Wu, W.; et al. (2021). Massive cranium from Harbin in northeastern China establishes a new Middle Pleistocene human lineage. Innovation. 2.

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Desmostylus hesperus

June 30, 2021, 10:07 pm

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Desmostylus hesperus Marsh, 1888

Systematics: Mammalia Afrotheria(?) Desmostylia Desmostylidae

Size: 1.8 m long
Type Horizon and Locality: Middle Miocene, Briones Formation, San Pablo Group (Serravallian) Alameda County, California, US
Type Specimen: YPM 1395d, a set of isolated teeth

Desmostylian form a small group of aquatic hippo-like mammals of uncertain affinities that lived around the northern Pacific rim between 30 and 7 millions years ago. Isotope analysis showed that Desmostylus lived in freshwater ecosystems probably feeding on aquatic freshwater plants. The species D. hesperus was first described from a set of teeth discovered near Mission San Jose, California.

June 30, 2021

References:

Clementz, M. T., Hoppe, K. A., & Koch, P. L. (2003). A paleoecological paradox: the habitat and dietary preferences of the extinct tethythere Desmostylus, inferred from stable isotope analysis. Paleobiology, 29(4), 506-519.

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Icaronycteris index

July 10, 2021, 1:06 pm

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Icaronycteris index Jepsen, 1966

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Chiroptera Icaronycteridae

Size: 40 cm wingspan, 15 cm long
Type Horizon and Locality: Early Eocene, Green River Formation (Wasatchian) Lincoln County, Wyoming, US
Type Specimen: YPM-PU 18150, an articulated skeleton

Icaronycteris is the earliest known bat capable of echolocation. It is known from well preserved complete specimens from the famous Green River Formation of Wyoming.

July 10, 2021

References:

Jepsen, G. L. (1966). Early eocene bat from Wyoming. Science, 154(3754), 1333-1339.Temnocyon ferox Eyermann, 1896

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Amphiorycteropus gaudryi

July 10, 2021, 7:52 pm

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Amphiorycteropus gaudryi (Forsyth Major, 1888)

Systematics: Mammalia Afrotheria Tubulidentata Orycteropodidae

Size: 1 m long
Type Horizon and Locality: Late Miocene (Turolian) Island of Samos, Greece
Type Specimen: NHML-M 5690 (mandible) and NHMW-A 4760 (cranium) (syntypes)

Aardvarks consist today of a single species that lived in Africa south of the Sahara. They were more species in the past and had a wider distribution. The medium-sized Amphiorycteropus gaudryi for instance lived in what is now today Greece and Turkey during the Late Miocene period. A specimen referred to this species has also been found in Italy.

July 10, 2021

References:

de Bonis, L., Bouvrain, G., Geraads, D., Koufos, G. D., & Sen, S. (1994). The first aardvarks (Mammalia) from the late Miocene of Macedonia, Greece. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen, 194, 343-360.

Rook, L., & Masini, F. (1994). Orycteropus cf. gaudryi (Mammalia, Tubulidentata) from the late Messinian of the Monticino Quarry (Faenza, Italy). Bullettino dellà Società Paleontologica Italiana, 33(3), 369-374.

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Miracinonyx trumani

July 11, 2021, 6:13 pm

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Miracinonyx trumani (Orr, 1969)

Systematics: Mammalia Ferae Carnivora Feliformia Felidae Felinae

Size: 1.70 m long
Type Horizon and Locality: Late Pleistocene (Wisconsin glaciation), Crypt Cave, Nevada
Type Specimen: WSI P3a/450, a partial skull

The "American cheetah" was previously though to be closely related to the African cheetah and placed in the same genus Acinonyx. However, DNA analysis later indicated that its closest living relative is in fact the puma (also named cougar or mountain lion). Like the modern cheetah, it was built for speed and the reason why today's pronghorn evolved to be so fast. However the American cheetah went extinct while pronghorns lived on.

July 11, 2021

References:

Martin, L. D., Gilbert, B. M., & Adams, D. B. (1977). A cheetah-like cat in the North American Pleistocene. Science, 195(4282), 981-982.

Barnett, R., Barnes, I., Phillips, M. J., Martin, L. D., Harington, C. R., Leonard, J. A., & Cooper, A. (2005). Evolution of the extinct Sabretooths and the American cheetah-like cat. Current Biology, 15(15), R589-R590.

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Arctodus simus

July 12, 2021, 2:38 pm

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Arctodus simus (Cope, 1879)

Systematics: Mammalia Ferae Carnivora Caniformia Ursidae Tremarctinae

Size: 1.80 m at shoulder height
Type Horizon and Locality: Late Pleistocene, Rancholabrean mammal zone, Shasta County, California, US
Type Specimen: UCMP 17754, a skull

The giant short-faced bear (Arctodus simus) was one of the largest land predator that ever existed. Neither a super-predator nor a strict scavenger, it was most probably an opportunistic omnivore like modern brown bears. Fossils of Arctodus simus have been reported throughout North America, especially in California. The closest living relative of the short-faced bear is the spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) from South America.

July 12, 2021

References:

Figueirido, B., Pérez-Claros, J. A., Torregrosa, V., Martín-Serra, A., & Palmqvist, P. (2010). Demythologizing Arctodus simus, the ‘short-faced’long-legged and predaceous bear that never was. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 30(1), 262-275.

Richards, R. L., Churcher, C. S., & Turnbull, W. D. (2019). Distribution and size variation in North American short-faced bears, Arctodus simus. In Palaeoecology and Palaeoenvironments of Late Cenozoic Mammals (pp. 191-246). University of Toronto Press.

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Skinnerhyus shermerorum

July 13, 2021, 9:01 pm

≫ Next: Fremdohyus osmonti

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Skinnerhyus shermerorum Prothero & Pollen, 2013

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ungulata Artiodactyla Suina Tayassuidae

Size: 1 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Late Miocene, Merritt Dam Member, Ash Hollow Formation (Clarendonian) Cherry County, Nebraska, US
Type Specimen: F:AM 113317, a skull

This one is a rather weird looking peccary with large wing-like cheekbones.

July 13, 2021

References:

D. R. Prothero and A. Pollen. 2013. New Late Miocene Fossil Peccaries From California and Nebraska. Kirtlandia 58:42-53

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Fremdohyus osmonti

July 14, 2021, 10:36 pm

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Fremdohyus osmonti (Sinclair, 1905)Prothero, 2016

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ungulata Artiodactyla Suina Tayassuidae Hesperhyinae

Size: 0.8 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Late Oligocene, John Day Formation (Arikareean) Gilliam County, Oregon, US

Type Specimen: UCMP 393, a skull

This is a small species of peccary from the Late Oligocene of Oregon. Originally named Thinohyus osmonti by Sinclair in 1905 and based on a well preserved skull, it was recently redescribed as a new genus, honoring Theodore Fremd, for his works on the John Day fossil beds, especially on the peccaries.

July 14, 2021

References:

Prothero, D. R. (2016). A new genus of hesperhyine peccary (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) from the late Oligocene of Oregon. Fossil Record 5: Bulletin 74, 74, 205.

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Eobasileus cornutus

July 22, 2021, 11:05 pm

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Eobasileus cornutus Cope, 1872

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ungulata Dinocerata Uintatheriidae

Size: 2.1 m high at shoulder

Type Horizon and Locality: Late Eocene, Washakie Formation (Uintan) Carbon County, Wyoming, US

Type Specimen: AMNH 5040, a well preserved skull and postcranial elements including a pelvis, right femur, right scapula, ribs and vertebrae.

The Dinocerates form a small family of medium to large ungulates that lived from the Late Paleocene to the Late Eocene periods of North America and East Asia. They were characterized by multiple horns on the skull and large canines. Eobasileus cornutus from the Late Eocene of Western North America was the largest species reaching a height of more than 2 meters at the shoulders.

July 22, 2021

References:

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Parvicornus occidentalis

July 24, 2021, 1:58 pm

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Parvicornus occidentalis Mihlbachler and Deméré 2009

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ungulata Perissodactyla Hippomorpha Brontotheriidae

Size: 2 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Middle Eocene, C Member, Santiago Formation (Duchesnean) San Diego County, California, US

Type Specimen: SDSNH 107667, a skull.

One of the lesser familiar brontotheres, Parvicornus ("Little horn") is actually known from decent amount of materials, including several skulls and a juvenile specimen, from the Middle Eocene Santiago Formation of California. I was small compared to the better known and more popular horned forms such as Megacerops and Embolotherium.

July 24, 2021

References:

Mihlbachler, M. C., & Deméré, T. A. (2009). A new species of Brontotheriidae (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from the Santiago Formation (Duchesnean, middle Eocene) of southern California. Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History, 41, 1-37.

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Anthracobune wardi

July 25, 2021, 3:32 pm

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Anthracobune wardi (Pilgrim, 1940)

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ungulata Perissodactyla Anthracobunidae

Size: 1 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Early Eocene, Kuldana Formation, Punjab, Pakistan

Type Specimen: BMNH 15799, a tooth.

Anthracobunids form a small family of rather enigmatic Eocene mammals from India and Pakistan known from fragmentary remains. They were thought to be ancestral to Proboscidians (elephants) but today are believed to be stem odd-toed-ungulates (horses, rhinos, ...). They were rather small in size, the largest species Anthracobune pinfoldi probably measuring about 2 m in length, while the smallest, Anthracobune wardi was only about 1 meter long. They lived in marshy environments and were possibly amphibious.

July 25, 2021

References:

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Litopterna

July 25, 2021, 4:52 pm

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Litopterna

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ungulata Litopterna

Range and Distribution: Paleocene to Pleistocene, South America

The Litopterns form an order of herbivorous South American mammals that were formerly associated with a number of other South American orders under the Meridiungulata. Recent DNA analysis showed however that the Litopterns were true ungulates and more specifically a sister group to the odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla), whereas the others meridiungulates were shown to be more closely related to elephants, sea cows and hyraxes. Litopterns were one of the victims of the Great American Interchange, when North and South America became connected, out-competed by the North American ungulates. The Litopterns were divided into a number of families, the most important being the Macraucheniidae (Macrauchenia, Theosodon) and the Proterotheriidae (Thoatherium, Diadiaphorus).

July 25, 2021

References:

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Phoberogale shareri

July 25, 2021, 9:44 pm

≫ Next: Pogonodon platycopis

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Phoberogale shareri Wang et al., 2009

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ferae Carnivora Ursidae Hemicyoninae

Size: 1 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Early Miocene, Sespe Formation (Late Arikareean) Orange County, California, US

Type Specimen: OCPC 21794 and 21795, a skull.

The dog-bears (Hemicyoninae) were a subfamily of bears that superficially resembled dogs. They had a worldwide distribution with the earliest forms dating from the Early Oligocene. They went extinct at the end of the Miocene period. Phoberogale ("frightful weasel") is a medium size dog-bear that originated in Eurasia and at some point migrated to North America. The species Phoberogale shareri has been described from the Early Miocene of California.

July 25, 2021

References:

Wang, X., Hunt, R. M., Tedford, R. H., & Lander, E. B. (2009). First record of immigrant Phoberogale (Mammalia, Ursidae, Carnivora) from Southern California. Geodiversitas, 31(4), 753-773.

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Pogonodon platycopis

July 31, 2021, 11:35 am

≫ Next: Lophiodon lautricense

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Pogonodon platycopis (Cope, 1879)

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ferae Carnivora Feliformia Nimravidae Nimravinae

Size: 2 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Oligocene, Turtle Cove Member, John Day Formation (Arikareean) Wheeler County, Oregon, US

Type Specimen:AMNH 6938, skull and mandible

Pogonodon is a large cat-like predator belonging to the extinct family Nimravidae from the Oligocene of Western North America. The type species, Pogonodon platycopis from Oregon, was originally described as a species of Hoplophoneus. There are currently two valid species of Pogonodon: P. platycopis and the smaller P. davisi, both described from the John Day Formation of Oregon. Fossils of Pogonodon have also been found in South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana.

February 18, 2019

References:

Bryant, H. N., Prothero, D. R., & Emry, R. J. (1996). Nimravidae. The terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene transition in North America, 453-475.

Barrett, P. Z. (2016). Taxonomic and systematic revisions to the North American Nimravidae (Mammalia, Carnivora). PeerJ, 4, e1658.

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Lophiodon lautricense

July 31, 2021, 5:36 pm

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Lophiodon lautricense Noulet, 1851

Systematics: Mammalia Laurasiatheria Scrotifera Ferungulata Ungulata Perissodactyla Ancylopoda Lophiodontidae

Size: 1.2 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Middle Eocene, Castrais Formation (Bartonian) Tarn, France

Type Specimen: MHNT.PAL.2010.0.116, a mandible

Lophiodon ("Crested tooth") and its relatives (the Lophiodontidae) were odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla) which are restricted to Eocene deposits of Western Europe. They were associated with the tapirs but recent cladistic analyses seem to indicate they are more closely related to the chalicotheres. Many species of Lophiodon have been described, possibly not all valid, and the genus is in serious need of revision.

July 31, 2021

References:

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Whatcheeria deltae

August 4, 2021, 11:35 pm

≫ Next: Megalichthys hibberti

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Whatcheeria deltae Lombard and Bolt, 1995

Systematics: Tetrapodomorpha Whatcheeridae

Size: 2 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Early Carboniferous, Waugh Member, Iowa ‘St. Louis’ Limestone (latest Viséan–earliest Serpukhovian), Keokuk County, Iowa, US

Type Specimen: FMNH PR 1700, skull and associated postcranial elements.

Whatcheeria was an early tetrapod from the Mississippian of Iowa. It has been recently re-described and the crushed skull of the holotype specimen CT-scanned and digitally reconstructed, revealing an animal with a laterally compressed head and body, strong limbs and a rather long neck for an early tetrapod. Although capable of walking on lands, it was probably mostly aquatic.

August 4, 2021

References:

Lombard, R. E., & Bolt, J. R. (1995). A new primitive tetrapod. Whatcheeria deltae, from the Lower Carboniferous of Iowa. Palaeontology, 38(3), 471-494.

Otoo, B. K., Bolt, J. R., Lombard, R. E., Angielczyk, K. D., & Coates, M. I. (2021). The postcranial anatomy of Whatcheeria deltae and its implications for the family Whatcheeriidae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Rawson, J. R., Porro, L. B., Martin-Silverstone, E., & Rayfield, E. J. (2021). Osteology and digital reconstruction of the skull of the early tetrapod Whatcheeria deltae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, e1927749.

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Megalichthys hibberti

September 5, 2021, 10:08 pm

≫ Next: Tanytrachelos ahynis

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Megalichthys hibberti Agassiz, 1835

Systematics: Tetrapodomorpha Megalichthyiformes Megalichtyidae

Size: 1.5 m long

Type Horizon and Locality: Early Carboniferous, Coal Measures Supergroup, Visean, Yorkshire Coalfield,Yorkshire, England, UK

Type Specimen: Leeds Museum specimen, 3D preserved articulated skull and scales.

Megalichthys ("big fish") was one of the largest freshwater fish of its time. Like the related Osteolepis, it is lobe-finned fish belonging to a clade close to the ancestry of tetrapods. The neotype specimen is an exquisitely preserved 3D specimen in ventral position from the Leeds Museum, discovered in the Yorkshire Coalfield during the nineteenth century.

September 5, 2021

References:

Wellburn, E. D. (1900, January). On the Genus Megalichthys, Agassiz: Its History, Systematic Position, and Structure. In Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic Society (Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 52-71). Geological Society of London.

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