Potwarmus, Antoñanzas, 2009

Antoñanzas, Raquel López, 2009, First Potwarmus from the Miocene of Saudi Arabia and the early phylogeny of murines (Rodentia: Muroidea), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 156 (3), pp. 664-679 : 669

POTWARMUS SP. NOV.

FROM JEBEL ZELTEN WESSELS, FEJFAR, PELÁEZ- CAMPOMANES, VAN DER MEULEN & DE BRUIJN, 2003

This species was described, but not named, by Wessels et al. (2003) on the basis of five cheek teeth (3M1s, 1M2, and 1m 1) and three incisors (2i, and 1I) from the early Middle Miocene localities of ‘Measured Section 2’ (MS2) and Wádí Shatirát (WS), Mardah Formation, Jebel Zelten, Libya.

The morphology of this species is close to that of the Arabian species, but it differs in some characters. For instance, the M1s of Potwarmus sp. nov. from Jebel Zelten have a stronger lingual cingulum, a larger enterostyle, a less prominent precingulum (sensu Jacobs et al., 1989), and less alternate cusps than AJ7. The M2 of Potwarmus sp. nov. from Jebel Zelten has a very long and strong lingual cingulum, whereas it is short and less prominent in AJ11 and AJ12. With regard to the m1, although the Libyan specimen is damaged and worn on its anterior part, it is less reduced than AJ13.