Palaeotragus, Gaudry, 1861

Kostopoulos, Dimitris S. & Sen, Sevket, 2016, Suidae, Tragulidae, Giraffidae, and Bovidae, Geodiversitas 38 (2), pp. 273-298 : 283-284

Palaeotragus sp. (large)

( Fig. 5 A-G; Tables 4, 5, 6)

Camelopardalis attica – Malik & Nafiz 1933: 52.

Palaeotragus sp. – Nicolas 1978: 456

MATERIAL EXAMINED AND MEASUREMENTS. — Küçükçekmece West: left m3, MNHN.F.TRQ439 (L = 39.8 mm, W = 20.7 mm); right m1-(part of) m3, TRQ368 (m1: L = c. 26.8 mm; m2: L = 30.8 mm, W = 20.6 mm); part of lower molar,TRQ434; distal humerus, TRQ444 (TDM = 52.0 mm; TDD = 106.5 mm); juvenile radius, TRQ445 (L>510.0 mm; TDP = 100.7 mm; TDM = 54.7 mm; DTD = c. 92 mm); proximal radius, TRQ449 (TDP = 110 mm; APDP = 57.7 mm); juvenile metacarpal TRQ438; distal femur, TRQ487 (TDD = 96.7 mm); tibia, TRQ502 (L = 510.0 mm; TDM = 54.0 mm; TDD = 82.0 mm); distal tibia, TRQ508, TRQ509 (TDD = 78.0; 79.0 mm); calcaneum, TRQ515 (L = 156.0 mm), TRQ516 (L = 175.0 mm; TD at sustentaculum tali = 52.4; APD at coracoids process = 70.6); part of calcaneum, TRQ517, TRQ518; cubonavicular, TRQ530 (TDmax = 67.0 mm; APDmax = 61.0 mm); astragalus, TRQ521, 522, 525, 526; proximal part of metatarsal,TRQ536; distal part of metatarsal, TRQ540; first phalanx,TRQ555, TRQ557, TRQ563, TRQ564, TRQ567, TRQ604, TRQ616; second phalanx,TRQ568, TRQ569, TRQ571, TRQ572, TRQ578; third phalanx,TRQ597 (L = 73.4 mm; H = 43.3 mm).

ADDITIONAL MEASUREMENTS. — See Tables 4, 5, 6.

DESCRIPTION AND REMARKS

A few dental and some fragmentary postcranial elements represent a small to medium sized giraffid ( Fig. 5 ). The lower molars have very banal giraffid morphology with the crescents being slowly fused with wear. The protoconid and the hypoconid are slightly constricted buccally ( Fig. 5A ). The metaconid is smoothly convex and the rib of the entoconid projects weakly on the lingual wall. There is no basal pillar on the first two lower molars but it does exist on the third one. The parastylid and the metastylid are present on m3, which also bears a weak entostylid in the upper part of the crown ( Fig. 5B ). The third lobe of m3 is strong and sub-square shaped in occlusal view.

The lower molars and especially the m3 morphology of the Küçükçekmece West species differs significantly from the similar-sized Bohlinia Matthew, 1929 in showing less strong lingual ribs, less obliquely set lingual crescents, narrower protoconid and hypoconid, more elliptical third lobe, and a posthypocristid that does not reach the lingual wall ( Fig. 5B ). The morphological characters of the available teeth and postcranials ( Figs 5 , 6 ) match better the Palaeotragini Pilgrim, 1911. Dimensionally the Küçükçekmece West small giraffid is larger than Palaeotragus rouenii Gaudry, 1861 from Pikermi, Samos ( Greece) and other Turolian SE European sites and smaller than Samotherium Forsyth-Major, 1888 from Samos, Vathylakkos ( Greece) and Maragheh ( Iran).

The m3 dimensions fit pretty well those of Palaeotragus coelophrys (Rodler & Weithofer, 1890) from Maragheh, Achtiaria expectans Borissiak, 1914 from Sebastopol, Ukraine, Palaeotragus hoffstetteri Ozansoy, 1965 from Yassiören, Turkey, and P. cf. coelophrys from China ( Borissiak 1914; Bohlin 1926; Ozansoy 1965). They are also close to the dimensions of Palaeotragus from Pentalophos, and Ravin de la Pluie, Axios valley, Greece and Loc. 49 of Middle Sinap, Turkey ( Geraads 1978; Gentry 2003; pers. obs.). Nevertheless, the taxonomy of the late Miocene large Palaeotragus is highly confused, and – as pointed by Geraads (2013) – in bad need of revision. The hypsodonty index (height/length) for the m3 MNHN.F.TRQ439 is 49, quite less than in P. coelophrys from Maragheh (63; MNHN.F.MAR669) and closer to the value obtained for the Pentalophos species (54; LGPUT PNT328). The same index is 36 for the somewhat worn specimen from Loc. 49 (spec. 91704) of Middle Sinap ( Gentry 2003). Additionally, the Maragheh P. coelophrys shows more intense lingual ribs and stronger parastylid and metastylid than the Küçükçekmece West m3, which in these features looks, again, more similar to the Pentalophos and Loc. 49 species.

Apart from astragali, and first and second phalanges the preserved postcranials are too fragmentary to be fully compared, and most of them belong to immature indi- viduals ( Fig. 5 D-G). The astragalus from Küçükçekmece West ( Fig. 6 ) is larger than that of P. rouenii and narrower distally than that of S. boissieri Forsyth-Major, 1888 from Samos, approaching more closely specimens referred to as P. coelophrys or P. hoffstetteri . Metacarpals and metatarsals from Küçükçekmece West appear dimensionally close to those of P. coelophrys from Maragheh and Palaeotragus from Middle Sinap (Loc 72 and Loc 49; Gentry 2003), although available data are statistically insufficient. Malik & Nafiz (1933: pl. IX, figs 3, 4) described a lower m1 and a talus as Camelopardalis attica ; both, however, can be better taken as Palaeotragus sp.

Figures

FIG. 5. — Palaeotragus sp. (large sized) and Bohlinia cf. attica from Küçükçekmece West, Turkey. Palaeotragus sp.: A, m1-m3(part) dex, MNHN.F.TRQ368 in occlusal view; B, m3 sin, MNHN.F.TRQ439 in occlusal view; C, distal femur, MNHN.F.TRQ487 in medial view; D, astragalus, MNHN.F.TRQ521 in plantar view; E, calcaneum, MNHN.F.TRQ515 in dorso-medial view; F, first phalanx, MNHN.F.TRQ555 in dorsal view; G, juvenile metacarpal, MNHN.F.TRQ438 in dorsal view. Bohlinia cf. attica: H, ossicone, MNHN.F.TRQ417 in lateral view (up) and natural basal cross section (down). Scale bars: 2 cm.

FIG. 6. — Metrical comparison of astragali of several late Miocene giraffids: