28 research outputs found
New Large Leptictid Insectivore from the Late Paleogene of South Dakota, USA
From a skull and mandible, we describe a new genus and species of a primitive insectivore (Mammalia: Insectivora: Leptictida: Leptictidae). Its large body size and higherâcrowned teeth indicate a different feeding ecology from other leptictid insectivores. With evidence of some heavy, flat wear on the molariform teeth, its shift in diet was likely to greater herbivory. Unlike the narrow snout of Blacktops, this new leptictid retains a broad snout, suggesting that small vertebrates were still important dietary components. The specimen was collected from the floodplain deposits of the lower or middle White River Group of South Dakota, which represent the latest Eocene to earliest Oligocene (Chadronian and Orellan North American Land Mammal âAgesâ)
The petrosal of the earliest elephant-shrew Chambius (Macroscelidea: Afrotheria) from the Eocene of Djebel Chambi (Tunisia) and the evolution of middle and inner ear of elephant-shrews
International audienc