Léonard Ginsburg

A consideration of some major topics concerning Old WorldMiocene Mammalian chronology, migrations and paleogeography

Abstract The authors of this note met to discuss the chronology of certain Miocene biologic events and their implications concerning palaeogeographic reconstructions. Two topics in particular were examined. The first was that the collision of the Afro-Arabian Plate into mainland Asia appears to have had a gradual effect on the mammalian and marine faunas. The marine evidence suggests a progressive diminution in exchanges between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean from the Chattian/Aquitanian boundary onwards (Adams et alii 1983) whereas the continental mammalian faunas do not indicate the occurrence of faunal interchanges prior to the Burdigalian. The period between 18 and 20 Ma seems to be the key moment for the establishment of intercontinental pathways permitting faunal exchanges between the two land masses. The second subject examined concerned the « Hipparion datum. Analysis of available geochronological evidence and biostratigraphical correlations do not confirm the date of 12.5 Ma attributed to the earliest known Mediterranean Hipparions. On the contrary, it seems that the radiometric dates obtained from tuffs at Howenegg (Germany) and Bou Hanifia (Algeria) on which this early date was founded, are not closely associated with the fossils they purport to date. New radiometric dates allied with magneto- and biostratigraphy allow us to suggest an age about 11.5 Ma to the earliest records of Hipparion in Europe and North Africa.

Les Hemicyoninae (Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) et les formes apparentées du Miocène inférieur et moyen d'Europe occidentale

Abstract A new material of Hemicyonids discovered in France, Spain and Portugal allows a new synthesis of the group, with definitions of the genera and relationships with sister-groups. The hemicyonids are shared out in three subfamilies: 1) the Phoberocyoninae enclose the genera Phoberocyon (P. hispanlcus nov. sp. of MN3a, P. dehmi , from MN3a, P. aurelianensis from MN3b, Plithocyon ( P. bruneti from MN3a; P. conquense nov. sp. from MN4, P. antunesi nov. sp. from MN, P. armagnacensis from MN5b + 6 + 7/8) and Phoberogale which is known since Upper Oligocene; 2) the Hemicyoninae which enclose Cephalogale geoffroyi, Zaragocyon from MN2, Hemicyon (H. gargan nov. sp. from the MN3a, H. stehlini from MN4b + 5, H. sansaniensis parvus from MN5b, H. sansaniensis sansaniensis from MN6, H. goeriachensis from MN6 + 7 and Dinocyon (D. thenardi) ; 3) The Ursinae with the genera Ursavus (the one of which we describe the earliest species, U. isorei nov. from MN3a), Ballusia nov. g. ( B. elmensis et B. hareni ) which yet wears many characters of Hemicyoninae and the ponto-plio-quaternary genera Indarctos, Agriotherium, Ailurarctos, Ailuropoda and Ursus .

A new Stegolophodon(Proboscidea, Mammalia) from the Early Miocene of Northern Thailand

Abstract Recent fieldwork in the Miocene basins of northern Thailand yielded the first complete molars of Stegolophodon ever found in this country. A complete M 3 from Mae Moh (Middle Miocene) and a partial mandible with M 2 –M 3 from Na Sai (Early Miocene), are described with new data on the evolution of the genus in South East Asia. A new species is described in the Early Miocene locality of Na Sai, being the earliest known species of Stegolophodon . The differentiation of tetralophodont forms is much older than was previously thought.

The Miocene avifauna of the Li Mae Long locality, Thailand: systematics and paleoecology

Abstract The Miocene avifauna from Li Mae Long includes an anhinga, a heron, a new species of lesser flamingo, Phoeniconaias siamensis n. sp., two Anatidae, a Phasianidae, three Rallidae, and a Strigidae. The landscape indicated by the mammalian and avian faunas corresponds to a large swampy depression, with probably saline or alkaline waters, surrounded by humid forests, under a warm climate.

La formation conglomératique du Vazzio près d'Ajaccio (Corse-du-Sud), un témoin des dépôts du Chattien supérieur continental synrift en Méditerranée occidentale

Abstract Evidence of Oligocene deposits was for the first time described in Corsica (near Ajaccio) within the Vazzio Formation. The succession is composed of a continental sedimentary sequence, mainly conglomerate, with a thickness of 250 to 300 m. Such conglomerates were deposited in torrential and lacustrine environments. Pollinic association and mammal data date the formation from Late Oligocene age (MP 29). The Vazzio Oligocene formation was deposited in a half-graben upon Hercynian granites. Within the Corsica-Sardinia block, the Vazzio Formation can be considered as an equivalent of the Ussana Formation of Sardinia. A Late-Oligocene palaeogeographic reconstruction is attempted, prior to the rotation of the Corsica-Sardinia block.

Une faune rare de rhinocérotidés (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) dans le Miocène inférieur de Pellecahus (Gers, France)

A revised faunal list of the mammals from the classical locality of Pellecahus (Gers, MN 4) is given. The first description of the rhinocerotid fauna is done. Old and new digs have yielded the local Prosantorhinus douvillei and very rare asiatic migrants, Plesiaceratherium mirallesi and Aegyrcitherium beonensis. The succession of Orleanian rhinocerotid faunas within the Garonne basin is discussed.

Découverte d'une forme ancestrale du Petit Panda dans le Miocène moyen de Madrid (Espagne)

One isolated lower tooth (M2) collected in the Middle Miocene of Madrid (Spain) is determined as a new taxon: Magerictis imperialensis nov. gen. nov. sp. It is very close to the lesser panda, Ailurus fulgens. Thus, the origins of the lesser panda are not with procyonids, but with european mustelids. The origin of ailurids, as well as the simocyonids, are close to a form such as Amphictis, a small Oligocene mustelid from the Phosphorites of Quercy, which already shows an elongated M2.

Discovery of a new anthracobunidae (tethytheria, mammalia) from the lower eocene lignite of the kach-harnai area in baluchistan (pakistan)

This paper deals with the discovery and the description of a new Anthracobunidae, Nakusia shahrigensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Ghazij Formation, Early Eocene, of the Kach area, west of Quetta in Pakistan. Discussion and comparison are made with the other anthracobunids, species and genera, the validity of which is discussed. Position of the Anthracobunidae in the Classification is discussed.

Tapirus balkanicus nov. sp., nouveau tapir (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) du Turolien de Bulgarie

Abstract A new species of Tapiridae, Tapirus balkanicus , is etablished for new material of the Bulgarian Upper Miocene. The comparison with other Neogene tapirids leads us to consider the upper jaw as more characteristic than the lower one for taxonomic determination and study of phyletic relations. A new subgenus, Meyeriscus, is created for Tapirus pannonicus , the most evolved European tapirid.

Les carnivores fossiles des sables de l’Orléanais

Resume Les carnivores fossiles retrouves dans l’Orleanais sont tous d’âge miocene moyen. Ils se repartissent en Amphicyonidae (7 especes correspondant a 6 genres), Ursidae (3 especes, 3 genres), Mustelidae (13 especes, 8 genres), Nimravidae (1 espece, 1 genre), Viverridae (3 especes, 2 genres), Felidae (4 especes, 2 genres).