甘肃临夏盆地中新世鬣狗科一新属新种
A new aardwolf-line fossil hyena from Middle and Late Miocene deposits of Linxia Basin,Gansu,China
摘要
Abstract
The aardwolf Proteles cristatus is the only known hyaenid,living or extinct,to exhibit an extremely reduced dentition related to its termite-specializing diet.The fossil record of extant aardwolves extends to 2 to 4 million years ago,but records that inform its evolutionary origins are essentially nonexistent.Such circumstance renders it difficult to place this unusual hyena in the broader evolutionary context of small-bodied hyaenid species in Eurasian Neogene deposits.Here we describe a new genus and species of a small-bodied hyaenid,Gansuyaena megalotis,representing the closest morphological link to aardwolves to date.This new fossil hyena is based on a skull with associated mandible,a rostrum preserving several teeth,and several referred specimens.The new specimens were discovered in Neogene deposits in Linxia Basin,Gansu Province,China.Phylogenetic analysis indicates that among early hyaenids,G.megalotis is most closely related,but unlikely ancestral,to the living aardwolf.Also recognized in this new species are the fossils previously referred to"Protictitherium"aff.P.gaillardi from Pasalar,Turkey.Additionally,"Plioviverrops"guerini from Los Mansuetos,Spain is interpreted to represent a second Gansuyaena species.In addition to the living aardwolf,Proteles cristatus,our analyses suggest that the proteline lineage includes the extinct genera Gansuyaena,Mesoviverrops,and Plioviverrops.Although the precise timing and geographic location of evolutionary divergence between the aardwolf and Gansuyaena remain elusive,critical new morphological information provided by Gansuyaena specimens reinforce findings from recent genomic analyses that the aardwolf lineage has an ancient origin from small-bodied stem hyaenids prior to the appearance of large and robust bone-cracking hyaenines.关键词
甘肃临夏盆地/中晚中新世/鬣狗科/土狼亚科Key words
Linxia Basin/Gansu/Middle and Late Miocene/Hyaenidae/Protelinae分类
生物科学引用本文复制引用
Henry GALIANO,曾志杰,Nikos SOLOUNIAS,王晓鸣,邱占祥,Stuart C.WHITE..甘肃临夏盆地中新世鬣狗科一新属新种[J].古脊椎动物学报,2022,60(2):81-116,36.基金项目
美国科学基金会(编号:DEB-1257572)、美国纽约自然历史博物馆Frick博士后项目2013-2016、美国怀俄明恐龙国际有限责任公司和美国纽约Maxilla and Mandible有限公司资助.We are grateful to J.Flynn,M.Norell,and J.Meng(AMNH)for allowing us to use the extensive fossil collection under their care.D.Berthet(Museum Lyon)for allowing us to examine specimens in his collections.M.Ellison(AMNH)photographed and illustrated the specimens.M.Hill Chase(AMNH Microscopy and Imaging Facility)assisted with CT scanning of the new specimens.O.Fikar read previous versions of the manuscript.M.Sincak generously provided access to his brain mold collection.C.Locker helped prepare these delicate specimens with great care and expertise.Molding and casting were done by J.Nakamura and H.Thomas.R.White and F.Euscullié provided access to their study collections and supplied us with casts.R.Magill allowed us to dissect preserved specimens in his collection.M.Rummel allowed us to examine his fissure deposit collection.L.Werdelin provided important comments on multiple versions of this study.J.Liu,Q.Jiangzuo,and editor L.Shi provided detailed comments that improved the manuscript.This project was partially funded by NSF-DEB#1257572 and an AMNH Frick Postdoctoral Fellowship(Z.J.T.)and Dinosauria International,LLC,WY(H.G.)and Maxilla and Mandible,Ltd.,NY(H.G.). （编号:DEB-1257572）
