37 research outputs found

    Early Miocene herpetofaunas from the Greek localities of Aliveri and Karydia – bridging a gap in the knowledge of amphibians and reptiles from the early Neogene of southeastern Europe

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    We here describe new remains of amphibians and reptiles from the early Miocene (MN 4) of two different Greek localities, Aliveri and Karydia. The newly described material consists of urodelans, alytids, indeterminate anurans, turtles, crocodylians, lacertids, indeterminate scincomorphs, anguids, colubrids, viperids, and indeterminate snakes. The presence of the frog Latonia cf. gigantea in Greece is documented for the first time. Additionally, the presence of viperids in Aliveri implies a much wider distribution for these snakes during the early Miocene of Europe. Of special interest is the presence of a peculiar colubrid that seems to possess a hitherto unknown vertebral structure, which is herein defined as the ‘paracentral ridge’. Although incomplete, the new material has important taxonomic and biogeographic implications, as it enhances our understanding of southeastern European herpetofaunas from the early Miocene, a time period that was characterised by major dispersal and extinction events and climatic change that affected the whole continent

    Messinian age and savannah environment of the possible hominin Graecopithecus from Europe

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    Dating fossil hominids and reconstructing their environments is critically important for understanding human evolution. Here we date the potentially oldest hominin, Graecopithecus freybergi from Europe and constrain the environmental conditions under which it thrived. For the Graecopithecus-bearing Pikermi Formation of Attica/Greece, a saline aeolian dust deposit of North African (Sahara) provenance, we obtain an age of 7.37-7.11 Ma, which is coeval with a dramatic cooling in the Mediterranean region at the Tortonian-Messinian transition. Palaeobotanic proxies demonstrate C4-grass dominated wooded grassland-to-woodland habitats of a savannah biome for the Pikermi Formation. Faunal turnover at the Tortonian-Messinian transition led to the spread of new mammalian taxa along with Graecopithecus into Europe. The type mandible of G. freybergi from Pyrgos (7.175 Ma) and the single tooth (7.24 Ma) from Azmaka (Bulgaria) represent the first hominids of Messinian age from continental Europe. Our results suggest that major splits in the hominid family occurred outside Africa

    CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE FINDINGS OF MAMMALS FROM THE EXCAVATIONS ON THE TYRICAL LOCALITY OF PIKERMI

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    ΣΤΗΝ ΠΑΡΟΥΣΑ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ ΜΕΛΕΤΩΝΤΑΙ ΑΠΟΛΙΘΩΜΑΤΑ ΣΑΡΚΟΦΑΓΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΒΟΟΕΙΔΩΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΗ ΘΕΣΗ ΜΕΓΑΛΟ ΡΕΜΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΙΚΕΡΜΙΟΥ (ΑΤΤΙΚΗ). ΕΚ ΤΩΝ ΣΑΡΚΟΦΑΓΩΝ ΠΕΡΙΓΡΑΦΟΝΤΑΙ ΑΠΟΛΙΘΩΜΑΤΑ ΤΩΝ ΕΙΔΩΝ MARTES CF WOOCLWARCLI, PROMELES PALAETTICA INCTITHERIUM VIVERRIUM, LYCYAENA CHAERETIS, ACLCROCUTA EXIMIA, CF. HYAENICTIS GRAECA, METAILURUS MAJOR, VAI FELIS ATTICA. ΕΚ ΤΩΝ ΒΟΟΕΙΔΩΝ ΠΕΡΙΓΡΑΦΟΝΤΑΙ ΑΠΟΛΙΘΩΜΑΤΑ ΤΩΝ TRAGUPORTAX AMALTHEA, TRAGOPORTAX GAUGRYI, PALAEORYX POLLASI, PROTORYX CAROLINAE, PSEUCLOTROGUS PARVICLENS, OIOCEROS ROTHI PALAEOREAS LINDERMAYERI, PROTRAGELAPHUS SHOUZESI, GAZELLA CAPRICORNIS ΚΑΙ PROSTEPSICENOS ROTUNCLICORNIS. ΓΙΝΟΝΤΑΙ ΣΥΓΚΡΙΣΕΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΝΩΤΕΡΩ ΕΙΔΩΝ ΜΕ ΕΙΔΗ ΑΠΟ ΘΕΣΕΙΣ ΤΗΣ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗΣ, ΤΟΥ ΙΡΑΝ ΚΑΙ ΑΛΛΕΣ. ΔΙΔΟΝΤΑΙ ΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΠΑΛΑΙΟΠΕΡΙΒΑΛΛΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΗΛΙΚΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΠΙΚΕΡΜΙΚΗΣ ΠΑΝΙΔΟΣ

    <i>Oioceros rothii</i> (Wagner, 1857) du Miocène supérieur de Pikermi (Grèce) : morphologie crânienne et dentaire, comparaison avec les formes voisines

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    L\u27espèce Oioceros rothii (Wagner, 1857) n\u27était connue jusqu\u27à maintenant avec certitude que par des chevilles isolées, des massacres et des fragments de crâne. La structure crânienne et la dentition d\u27O. rothii restaient malheureusement inconnues. Dans cet article, un crâne presque complet d\u27O. rothii avec ses mandibules en connexion, des dentures isolées et des massacres qui proviennent de Pikermi, localité type d\u27O. rothii, sont décrits et comparés. L\u27espèce O. rothii présente plusieurs caractères que l\u27on retrouve chez O. atropatenes (Rodler &amp; Weithofer, 1890) et Samotragus praecursor Bouvrain &amp; Bonis, 1985. Elle possède un crâne à face relativement courte, peu inclinée par rapport à l\u27arrière-crâne, et un arrière-crâne non raccourci. La dentition est caractérisée par une rangée prémolaire plus longue par rapport aux molaires de O. atropatenes et S. praecursor. "Oioceros" wegneri Andree, 1926 représente probablement un genre différent, caractérisé par une face plus longue et très inclinée par rapport à l\u27arrière-crâne, un arrière-crâne court et des chevilles en grande partie en arrière des orbites.Until now, the species Oioceros rothii (Wagner, 1857) was known only by isolated horn-cores, frontlets and skull fragments, but its skull structure and dentition were poorly known. In this article, an almost complete skull of O. rothii with associated mandibles, plus isolated dentitions and frontlets from Pikermi, the type locality, are described and compared. The species O. rothii has many characters in common with O. atropatenes (Rodler &amp; Weithofer, 1890) and Samotragus praecursor Bouvrain &amp; Bonis, 1985. It has a relative short face, slightly inclined in relation to the braincase, which is relatively long. Its dentition is characterised by a premolar series, which is longer relatively to the molars than in O. atropatenes and S. praecursor. "Oioceros" wegneri Andree, 1926 probably represents a different genus, characterised by a longer and strongly inclined face in relation to the braincase, short braincase and horn-cores placed almost entirely behind the orbits.</p

    Morphological analysis of Cricetodon aliveriensis (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the locality of Karydia (Rhodope, Northern Greece)

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    Cricetodon is present in the early Miocene of Greece in six assemblages, Cricetodon aliveriensis Klein Hofmeijer and de Bruijn, 1988 in Aliveri and Karydia (both MN4) and Cricetodon meini Freudenthal, 1963 in the MN5 localities of Thymiana A and C, Antonios and Komotini. The two MN4 small mammal assemblages in Aliveri (Euboea island) and Karydia (Northern Greece) have several species in common and Cricetodon aliveriensis is one of them. The aim of this paper is to record and describe this species, the most abundant rodent in the Karydia assemblage, to compare the morphological variation and to discuss the differences in size between the material of Karydia and Aliveri. The results of this study indicate that we deal with one Cricetodon species in Karydia, although more advanced than Cricetodon aliveriensis from Aliveri. This study highlights the importance of a detailed morphological description to the size range of a species. The Karydia material shows a large range in length and width measurements that may indicate heterogeneity of samples. However, the morphological similarity and the normal distribution of the Cricetodon values support the assignment to only one species

    Morphological analysis of Cricetodon aliveriensis (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the locality of Karydia (Rhodope, Northern Greece)

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    Cricetodon is present in the early Miocene of Greece in six assemblages, Cricetodon aliveriensis Klein Hofmeijer and de Bruijn, 1988 in Aliveri and Karydia (both MN4) and Cricetodon meini Freudenthal, 1963 in the MN5 localities of Thymiana A and C, Antonios and Komotini. The two MN4 small mammal assemblages in Aliveri (Euboea island) and Karydia (Northern Greece) have several species in common and Cricetodon aliveriensis is one of them. The aim of this paper is to record and describe this species, the most abundant rodent in the Karydia assemblage, to compare the morphological variation and to discuss the differences in size between the material of Karydia and Aliveri. The results of this study indicate that we deal with one Cricetodon species in Karydia, although more advanced than Cricetodon aliveriensis from Aliveri. This study highlights the importance of a detailed morphological description to the size range of a species. The Karydia material shows a large range in length and width measurements that may indicate heterogeneity of samples. However, the morphological similarity and the normal distribution of the Cricetodon values support the assignment to only one species

    The Pikermian tortoises (Testudines, Testudinidae) from the late Miocene of the South Balkans

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    This article deals with the fossil tortoises of one of the most iconic fossil localities of the Neogene of the Old World, the upper Miocene locality of Pikermi, near Athens, Greece. We describe the type, previously published, and new material of the fossil tortoises from Pikermi, along with new material from the coeval Azmaka 6 locality in Bulgaria. This combined information results in the complete revision of the ‘marble tortoise’ Testudo marmorum, which is the first turtle species ever named from Greece. Besides the challenges and difficulties of working with material from the old collections of Pikermi, we present a complete revision of this species and identify its presence outside its type locality in the South Balkan Peninsula. The presence of numerous shells of the ‘marble tortoise’ allows us to discuss the observed variation and attempt to interpret it as the result of intraspecific variation, ontogenetic changes, or sexual dimorphism. For the first time, we observe the absence of the characteristic hypo-xiphiplastral hinge in female individuals of Testudo marmorum, which in turn challenges the traditional phylogenetic position of this species. We further describe previously published and new material of the giant tortoise Titanochelon from Pikermi. Based on the updated information, we can suggest that the Pikermian giant tortoise probably represents a distinct taxon. Our results signal Pikermi as one of the most important localities to understand the evolution of tortoises in the eastern Mediterranean during the last parts of the Neogene

    The huge-sized deinothere Deinotherium proavum (Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene localities Pikermi and Halmyropotamos (Greece)

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    Presented here are the deinotheriid dental and postcranial remains from the Late Miocene localities Pikermi and Halmyropotamos (Greece). The study and comparison of the available juvenile dental material from Pikermi with other relevant specimens from Europe showed that it belongs to the huge-sized Deinotherium proavum (=D. gigantissimum). Additionally, several postcranial specimens from Pikermi, as well as from Halmyropotamos, present deinotheriid features, which distinguish them from elephantoids, and permit their attribution also to D. proavum. This species is known from the Turolian and represents the terminal evolutionary stage of the European deinotheres. Its presence in Pikermi and Halmyropotamos is compatible with the middle Turolian (MN 12) age of the localities. Additionally, the taxonomy of European deinotheres is discussed, as well as the biostratigraphical and geographical distribution of D. proavum. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved

    Ancylotherium pentelicum (Mammalia, Chalicotheriidae) from the late Miocene of Kerassia (Greece) and remarks on its intraspecific variability

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    The first detailed description of Ancylotherium pentelicum (Gaudry and Lartet, 1856) from the late Miocene (Turolian) of Kerassia (Greece) is provided based on three metapodial elements. Potential intraspecific variability of this species in the Eastern Mediterranean has been previously discussed, but no decisive conclusions could be drawn. The present comparison of metapodial elements of A. pentelicum from Kerassia, Pikermi, Samos (Greece), Pinaryaka, Salihpaşalar (Turkey), Kiro Kuchuk (North Macedonia), and Hadjidimovo (Bulgaria) provides evidence for the existence of notable intraspecific variation in both the morphology and especially the size of the species. The morphological differences in the shape and occurrence of some metapodial articular facets are probably associated with the anticipated individual variability and not with sexual dimorphism. On the other hand, the notable metrical variability observed among metapodials of A. pentelicum may be indicative of sexual dimorphism, as has been previously documented in other chalicotheriids.Research Account of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athen

    The Pikermian tortoises (Testudines, Testudinidae) from the late Miocene of the South Balkans

    No full text
    This article deals with the fossil tortoises of one of the most iconic fossil localities of the Neogene of the Old World, the upper Miocene locality of Pikermi, near Athens, Greece. We describe the type, previously published, and new material of the fossil tortoises from Pikermi, along with new material from the coeval Azmaka 6 locality in Bulgaria. This combined information results in the complete revision of the `marble tortoise&apos; Testudo marmorum, which is the first turtle species ever named from Greece. Besides the challenges and difficulties of working with material from the old collections of Pikermi, we present a complete revision of this species and identify its presence outside its type locality in the South Balkan Peninsula. The presence of numerous shells of the `marble tortoise&apos; allows us to discuss the observed variation and attempt to interpret it as the result of intraspecific variation, ontogenetic changes, or sexual dimorphism. For the first time, we observe the absence of the characteristic hypo-xiphiplastral hinge in female individuals of Testudo marmorum, which in turn challenges the traditional phylogenetic position of this species. We further describe previously published and new material of the giant tortoise Titanochelon from Pikermi. Based on the updated information, we can suggest that the Pikermian giant tortoise probably represents a distinct taxon. Our results signal Pikermi as one of the most important localities to understand the evolution of tortoises in the eastern Mediterranean during the last parts of the Neogene
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