A Bovid tooth referred to in the litterature as from the same locality that yielded upper Eocene mammals belongs to a modem or probably contemporary Bos taurus (domestic
cattle); it is not a fossil and certainly was not found in situ. As it may induce in confusion, it must not anymore be taken into account in future paleontological and
stratigraphic work

Antunes, M. Telles

English

Repositório da Universidade Nova de Lisboa

The bovidfrom the Carrica clay-pit (Coja):a discussionM. Telles ANTUNESAcademia das Ciencias de Lisboa.Centro de Estratigrafia e Paleobiologia da UNL, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia,Quinta da Torre, P-2825 Monte de Caparica, Portugal.Ciencias da Terra (UNL) Lisboa pp.185-190 1992RESUMOPalavras-chave: Bos taurus- Modernol Actual-s--Coja-Portugal.Esclarece-se que 0 dente de bovfdeo citado naliteratura como proveniente da mesma localidade que deumamiferos do Eocenico superior pertence a urn hoidomestico (Bos taurus) modemo, actual, nio fossilizado,que nao deve ter sido encontrado in situ. Como podeinduzir em confusao, nio deve voltar a ser tido em contaem trabalhos de Estratigrafia e Paleontologia.RESUMEMots-ales: Bos taurus - Modernel Aetuel- Coja-Portugal.La dent de Bovide mentionnee dans la Iitteraturecomme provenant du gisement de Coja Ii mammiferes deI' Eocene superieur appartient Ii un Bos taurus (boeufdornestique); la piece n'est merne pas fossilisee et n'asfirement pas ete recoltee in situ. Comme eUe peut induireen confusion, on ne doit plus tenir compte de la dent encause en de futurs travaux concernant la Stratigraphieet laPaleontologic.ABSTRACTKey-words: Bos taurusCoja - Portugal.Modern! Contemporary-A Bovid tooth referred to in the litterature as from thesame locality that yielded upperEocene mammals belongsto a modem or probably contemporary Bos taurus (do-mestic cattle); it is not a fossil and certainly was not foundin situ. As it may induce in confusion, it must not anymorebe taken into account in future paleontological andstratigraphic work.187INTRODUCTIONWell after his first paper on the discovery ofmammalianfossils found in the clay quarry at Carrica,nearCoja, G. ZBYSZEWSKI (1965, p. 219) referredto a Bovid tooth which was given him (at the sametime and together with the remaining fossils) by Mr.L.S.Filipe. The former specimen would have beenfound in the same formation where teeth and bones(later recognized by ANTUNES, 1964 as upperEocene in age) came from (ZBYSZEWSKI, ibid.y.This author recognized then that fossilization wasdifferent, i.e. the tooth could have come from anotherbed (ZBYSZEWSKI,ibid.).Having observed summarily the Bovid tooth,we were convinced that it was not a fossil at all, andhence that it was meaningless. For this reason noreference to it was made inourpapers until much later(ANTUNES, 1979, p.162). We stressed also thefact that its exact provenience remained unknown(loc. cit.).Anyway the tooth had entered the litterature andbecame a source ofconfusion, even more so becauseat Coja and elsewhere in this region there are severalsedimentary units apparently devoid of fossils andbadly in need of a more accurate dating. Some ofthese units are Quaternary and it would be temptingto regard the Bovid tooth as an evidence of this.Much work has been done about the regionallithostratigraphy. There has been a distinctly uncriti-cal approach in some studies as regardspaleontological evidence, data being more or lessassembled as if they had the same scientific signifi-cance. Thus, at the Coja site, the Bovid tooth wouldnot compare in stratigraphic value with the typicalLudian fauna.The situation is prone to confusion. In order toprevent it and settle the matter for once and for goodwe reexamined the controversial specimen as fol-lows.DESCRIPTION AND IDENTIFICATIONDescriptionThe tooth referred to by Zbyszewski and kept atthe collection of the "Services Geol6gicos de Portu-gal", number 5772, is an upperleft first molar (M1).The crown is very much abraded by use but otherwisepreservation is good, even if there is a small fractureat the vestibulo-distal comer. Roots are well pre-served except for the vestibule-distal one, which isbroken in such a way (with an oblique, nearly platesurface) that it may suggest a butchering mark duringthe process of tearing apart of the head. Cement iswell preserved too.The dentine shows, mainly on the occlusal sur-face, some minor cracks underlined by a pink colour;cracks also affected enamel and the cement coating.This may suggest that the specimen was fired to amoderate degree.As a final remark, the dark, yellowish patina wesaw through window glass where it is displayed is buta thick varnish cover. There is no significantpatina atall.Dimensions: maximum mesio-distal length xmax. vestibulo-lingual breadth at the crown base areapproximately 24.7 x 24.5 mm.IdentificationForm and size ofthe tooth point out to an highlyevolute, post-Pliocene, moderately-sized Bovine.One may recognize, even at the first glance, thatit is definitely much smaller than in Bison (an189unprobable hypothesis since this genus remains un-known in Portugal, even ifthere are quite a numberofimportant quaternary localities), as well as than thewell-represented Bos primigenius. Hence it can beassigned to domestic cattle, Bos taurus and to a rathersmall-sized race, as it was the normal situation inPortugal - moreover in the hinterland, where larger,beef races were introduced much later.CONCLUSIONSThis study leads to the following conclusions:1 - The bovid tooth referred to in the litteratureas having been found in the locality of Coja, wellBIBLIOGRAPHYknown for the occurence of a late Eocene fauna,belongs to a rather small-sized Bos taurus (domesticcattle).2 - The specimen does not appear to have beenfossilized at all; it is perfectly preserved.3 - The same tooth shows some cracks thatsuggest it was (moderately) fired; one of the roots isuncomplete, with a flat and oblique surface thatindicates it was probably severed during butcheringin order to tear apart the head.4 - The specimen, whose exact origin is un-known, should not have been referred in the litteratureand is definitely to be discarded as stratigraphic orpaleontological evidence.ANTUNES, M.T. (1964) - Presence du genre Palaeotherium Cuv. (Equoidea, Mammalia) dans les argiles de Coja(Arganil)/ Considerations sur I'age et l'extension des formations eocenes au Portugal. Rev. Fac. Cienc. Lisboa, 2'ser., C, vol.XlII, fasc. pI, p.I03-122, I fig., I pI..ANTUNES, M.T. (1979) - Ensaio de sintese critica acerca do Cretacico terminal e do Paleogenico de Portugal. Cienciasda Terra (UNL), Lisboa, nQ5, p.145-174.ANTUNES, M.T. (1986)-Anoplotherium (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) etGeochelone (Reptilia, Testudines) aCoja: lesvertebres fossiles et I'Eocene superieur au Portugal. Ciencias da Terra (UNL), Lisboa, nQ8, p.99-110, 1 pI.ANTUNES, M.T. (1991) - Contributions to the Eocene Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Beira Alta, Portugal/ I - Asynoptical table. II - New late Eocene mammalian remnants from Coja, Portugal and the presence ofPalaeotherium magnum Cuvier. Ciencias da Terra (UNL), Lisboa, nQ 11, pp. ????ZBYSZEWSKI, G. (1965) -Observa~oesacerca da idade de trcs jazidas de vertebrados terciarios, Boletim daAcademiadas Ciencias de Lisboa, vol. XXXVII (1965), p.218-230.190

The bovid from the Carriça clay-pit (Côja): a discussion

New University of Lisbon's Repository

The bovidfrom the Carrica clay-pit (Coja):
a discussion
M. Telles ANTUNES
Academia das Ciencias de Lisboa.
Centro de Estratigrafia e Paleobiologia da UNL, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia,
Quinta da Torre, P-2825 Monte de Caparica, Portugal.
Ciencias da Terra (UNL) Lisboa pp.185-190 1992

RESUMO
Palavras-chave: Bos taurus- Modernol Actual-s--Coja
-Portugal.
Esclarece-se que 0 dente de bovfdeo citado na
literatura como proveniente da mesma localidade que deu
mamiferos do Eocenico superior pertence a urn hoi
domestico (Bos taurus) modemo, actual, nio fossilizado,
que nao deve ter sido encontrado in situ. Como pode
induzir em confusao, nio deve voltar a ser tido em conta
em trabalhos de Estratigrafia e Paleontologia.
RESUME
Mots-ales: Bos taurus - Modernel Aetuel- Coja-
Portugal.
La dent de Bovide mentionnee dans la Iitterature
comme provenant du gisement de Coja Ii mammiferes de
I' Eocene superieur appartient Ii un Bos taurus (boeuf
dornestique); la piece n'est merne pas fossilisee et n'a
sfirement pas ete recoltee in situ. Comme eUe peut induire
en confusion, on ne doit plus tenir compte de la dent en
cause en de futurs travaux concernant la Stratigraphieet la
Paleontologic.
ABSTRACT
Key-words: Bos taurus
Coja - Portugal.
Modern! Contemporary-
A Bovid tooth referred to in the litterature as from the
same locality that yielded upperEocene mammals belongs
to a modem or probably contemporary Bos taurus (do-
mestic cattle); it is not a fossil and certainly was not found
in situ. As it may induce in confusion, it must not anymore
be taken into account in future paleontological and
stratigraphic work.
187

INTRODUCTION
Well after his first paper on the discovery of
mammalianfossils found in the clay quarry at Carrica,
nearCoja, G. ZBYSZEWSKI (1965, p. 219) referred
to a Bovid tooth which was given him (at the same
time and together with the remaining fossils) by Mr.
L.S.Filipe. The former specimen would have been
found in the same formation where teeth and bones
(later recognized by ANTUNES, 1964 as upper
Eocene in age) came from (ZBYSZEWSKI, ibid.y.
This author recognized then that fossilization was
different, i.e. the tooth could have come from another
bed (ZBYSZEWSKI,ibid.).
Having observed summarily the Bovid tooth,
we were convinced that it was not a fossil at all, and
hence that it was meaningless. For this reason no
reference to it was made inourpapers until much later
(ANTUNES, 1979, p.162). We stressed also the
fact that its exact provenience remained unknown
(loc. cit.).
Anyway the tooth had entered the litterature and
became a source ofconfusion, even more so because
at Coja and elsewhere in this region there are several
sedimentary units apparently devoid of fossils and
badly in need of a more accurate dating. Some of
these units are Quaternary and it would be tempting
to regard the Bovid tooth as an evidence of this.
Much work has been done about the regional
lithostratigraphy. There has been a distinctly uncriti-
cal approach in some studies as regards
paleontological evidence, data being more or less
assembled as if they had the same scientific signifi-
cance. Thus, at the Coja site, the Bovid tooth would
not compare in stratigraphic value with the typical
Ludian fauna.
The situation is prone to confusion. In order to
prevent it and settle the matter for once and for good
we reexamined the controversial specimen as fol-
lows.
DESCRIPTION AND IDENTIFICATION
Description
The tooth referred to by Zbyszewski and kept at
the collection of the "Services Geol6gicos de Portu-
gal", number 5772, is an upperleft first molar (M1).
The crown is very much abraded by use but otherwise
preservation is good, even if there is a small fracture
at the vestibulo-distal comer. Roots are well pre-
served except for the vestibule-distal one, which is
broken in such a way (with an oblique, nearly plate
surface) that it may suggest a butchering mark during
the process of tearing apart of the head. Cement is
well preserved too.
The dentine shows, mainly on the occlusal sur-
face, some minor cracks underlined by a pink colour;
cracks also affected enamel and the cement coating.
This may suggest that the specimen was fired to a
moderate degree.
As a final remark, the dark, yellowish patina we
saw through window glass where it is displayed is but
a thick varnish cover. There is no significantpatina at
all.
Dimensions: maximum mesio-distal length x
max. vestibulo-lingual breadth at the crown base are
approximately 24.7 x 24.5 mm.
Identification
Form and size ofthe tooth point out to an highly
evolute, post-Pliocene, moderately-sized Bovine.
One may recognize, even at the first glance, that
it is definitely much smaller than in Bison (an
189
unprobable hypothesis since this genus remains un-
known in Portugal, even ifthere are quite a numberof
important quaternary localities), as well as than the
well-represented Bos primigenius. Hence it can be
assigned to domestic cattle, Bos taurus and to a rather
small-sized race, as it was the normal situation in
Portugal - moreover in the hinterland, where larger,
beef races were introduced much later.
CONCLUSIONS
This study leads to the following conclusions:
1 - The bovid tooth referred to in the litterature
as having been found in the locality of Coja, well
BIBLIOGRAPHY
known for the occurence of a late Eocene fauna,
belongs to a rather small-sized Bos taurus (domestic
cattle).
2 - The specimen does not appear to have been
fossilized at all; it is perfectly preserved.
3 - The same tooth shows some cracks that
suggest it was (moderately) fired; one of the roots is
uncomplete, with a flat and oblique surface that
indicates it was probably severed during butchering
in order to tear apart the head.
4 - The specimen, whose exact origin is un-
known, should not have been referred in the litterature
and is definitely to be discarded as stratigraphic or
paleontological evidence.
ANTUNES, M.T. (1964) - Presence du genre Palaeotherium Cuv. (Equoidea, Mammalia) dans les argiles de Coja
(Arganil)/ Considerations sur I'age et l'extension des formations eocenes au Portugal. Rev. Fac. Cienc. Lisboa, 2'
ser., C, vol.XlII, fasc. pI, p.I03-122, I fig., I pI..
ANTUNES, M.T. (1979) - Ensaio de sintese critica acerca do Cretacico terminal e do Paleogenico de Portugal. Ciencias
da Terra (UNL), Lisboa, nQ5, p.145-174.
ANTUNES, M.T. (1986)-Anoplotherium (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) etGeochelone (Reptilia, Testudines) aCoja: les
vertebres fossiles et I'Eocene superieur au Portugal. Ciencias da Terra (UNL), Lisboa, nQ8, p.99-110, 1 pI.
ANTUNES, M.T. (1991) - Contributions to the Eocene Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Beira Alta, Portugal/ I - A
synoptical table. II - New late Eocene mammalian remnants from Coja, Portugal and the presence of
Palaeotherium magnum Cuvier. Ciencias da Terra (UNL), Lisboa, nQ 11, pp. ????
ZBYSZEWSKI, G. (1965) -Observa~oesacerca da idade de trcs jazidas de vertebrados terciarios, Boletim daAcademia
das Ciencias de Lisboa, vol. XXXVII (1965), p.218-230.
190


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