A new species of Vasseuromys (Gliridae, Mammalia) from the Upper Oligocene of the Ebro Basin (Spain)

In this paper, a new species of Vasseuromys, V. bergasensis sp. nov., from the locality of Bergasa (Ebro Basin, Spain), is described. Bergasa contains a fauna belonging to the Late Oligocene (zone MP30), composed— among other species—of Issiodoromys pseudanaema and Rhodanomys transiens. The main diagnostic features of V. bergasensis sp. nov. are the presence of a long centrolophid (fused or not to the mesoconid) in the lower molars, a large reduction in thenumber and length of extra ridges in the upper and lower molars, the absence of extra ridges between metalophid and centrolophid and between centrolophid and mesolophid, and the absence of the metatrope in more than half the specimens of the upper teeth M1 and M2. V. bergasensis sp. nov. is similar in size to V. elegans and smaller than the other members of the genus. The age and simple dental pattern of the new species of Vasseuromys allow us to hypothesize about relationships within the genus

Tribute to Nieves López Martínez : Nieves López Martínez, passion for science

Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

The earliest mammal of the european paleocene: the multituberculate hainina.

A new species of multituberculate mammal, Hainina pyrenaica n. sp. is described from Fontllonga-3 (Tremp Basin, Southern Pyrenees, Spain), correlated to the later part of chron C29r just above the K/T boundary. This taxon represents the earliest European Tertiary mammal recovered so far, and is related to other Hainina species from the European Paleocene. A revision of the species of Hainina allows recognition of a new species, H. vianeyae n. sp. from the Late Paleocene of Cernay (France). The genus is included in the family Kogaionidae Ra˜dulescu and Samson, 1996 from the Late Cretaceous of Romania on the basis of unique dental characters. The Kogaionidae had a peculiar masticatory system with a large, blade-like lower p4, similar to that of advanced Ptilodontoidea, but occluding against two small upper premolars, interpreted as P4 and P5, instead of a large upper P4. The endemic European Kogaionidae derive from an Early Cretaceous group with five premolars, and evolved during the Late Cretaceous and Paleocene. The genus Hainina represents a European multituberculate family that survived the K/T boundary mass extinction event

Virtual cranial reconstruction of Hispanomys moralesi (Rodentia, Mammalia) from Cerro de los Batallones (upper Miocene, Spain)

El Cerro de los Batallones is one of the most important fossil sites of the Miocene. The quantity and preservation of its fossil remains have allowed us to describe many new mammal species. One of these is Hispanomys moralesi, a derived species of the Tribe Cricetodontini, a wide group of rodents with great importance in the faunal assemblage during the Miocene. Unlike most fossil micromammals in this fossil site, we have obtained skull remains that preserve never recorded anatomical structures in this time interval. Due to the fragility of the material, it could only be studied in detail using X-ray micro-computed tomography (µ-CT Scan). With this technique, we obtained three-dimensional models of 12 skulls of Hispanomys moralesi, in which different osteological parts have been described. In this way, we compared the morphological variation of the skull with other fossil cricetids and concluded that Batallones’ species is an opisthodont rodent, with a relatively elongated rostrum, a robust base of zygomatic arches and big-sized tooth rows. Opisthodont incisor characterises omnivore and herbivore diets in rodents. Therefore, these new findings of Hispanomys moralesi could allow us to describe the dietary affinities of this extinct species

The Aragonian and Vallesian high-resolution micromammal succession from the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin (Aragón, Spain)

We present an updated taxonomy and faunal distribution of the micromammal fossil record from the Aragonian and lower Vallesian of the Calatayud-Montalbán Basin. The analysed record includes the orders Rodentia, Eulipotyphla, and Lagomorpha. The pattern of species turnover showsseven major faunal events,which are correlated to major climate changes based on marine stable oxygen and carbon isotope records. The episodesδ 18OMi-2 and Mi-3 are significantly correlated with major micromammal turnover at the boundaries between lower and middle Aragonian and middle and upper Aragonian, respectively. Our resultssupport the existence of a selective turnover during the Aragonian and lower Vallesian

Paleoecología y cultura material en el complejo tumular prehistórico de Castillejo del Bonete (Terrinches, Ciudad Real)

Castillejo del Bonete es un complejo tumular situado en el borde meridional de la Meseta Ibérica, ocupado en fechas calcolíticas y de la Edad del Bronce, vinculado a la Cultura de las Motillas. Materiales arqueológicos muy diversos han sido recuperados asociados a las arquitecturas del lugar (túmulos, corredores, potentes muros, etc.). Se presenta un avance de la investigación paleoecológica sobre las colecciones de carbón, polen y microvertebrados. Además se presentan cuentas de piedra y madera, colgantes de concha, material lítico, la colección cerámica, nuevas metalografías e industria metálica y botones de marfil. El conjunto de estas evidencias arqueológicas pone de manifiesto la celebración ritual de banquetes y ofrendas durante la Prehistoria Reciente en una cueva monumentalizada mediante túmulos en el interior de la Península Ibérica