A new species of Paludocyon (Carnivora: Amphicyonidae) from the early Middle Miocene of els Casots (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

The early Middle Miocene (15.9 Ma) site of els Casots (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain) has yielded a rich vertebrate assemblage, including abundant carnivoran remains that mostly remain unpublished. Here we describe a new species of the amphicyonid genus Paludocyon based on a compressed cranium with well-preserved teeth and an isolated lower molar (m2) from els Casots. Paludocyon moyasolai sp. nov., included in the subfamily Amphicyoninae, is characterized by a notably enlarged M2, which is buccolingually broader than the M1, and by a the relatively large size of the M3, both traits being absent in other species of Paludocyon . A phylogenetic analysis, conducted on European and North American species assigned to Cynelos and Paludocyon , indicates that Cynelos is paraphyletic but supports the monophyly of Paludocyon , with the new species being recovered as its basal-most member.

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