Protragelaphus skouzesi Dames, 1883

Kostopoulos, Dimitrios S. & Bernor, Raymond L., 2011, The Maragheh bovids (Mammalia, Artiodactyla): systematic revision and biostratigraphiczoogeographic interpretation, Geodiversitas 33 (4), pp. 649-708 : 677-678

Protragelaphus skouzesi Dames, 1883 ( Fig. 17 )

Protragelaphus skouzesi Dames, 1883: 97 .

TYPE LOCALITY. — Pikermi, Greece (late Miocene).

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — MNHN.F: part of skull MAR1397 ( Mecquenem 1925: pl. V, fig. 2, pl. VI, fig. 6), 1307; horn-core of juvenile individual MAR1830; palate MAR3228; mandible MAR1827 ( Mecquenem 1925: pl. VI, fig. 1). — NHMW: part of frontal with left horn-core, A4898; frontlet without register number. — HUW: P2-M3 sin, MMTT7/2294; p2-p3 dex, MMTT13/1519.

DESCRIPTION AND REMARKS

Maragheh material ascribed to this species has been briefly communicated by Rodler & Weithofer (1890) and Mecquenem (1925). Protragelaphus skouzesi has been well defined by Gentry (1971) and Bouvrain (1978, 1992), who have also discussed the most important morphological features of the two Maragheh skulls stored in MNHN.F. A summary of the basic morphology is given here ( Fig. 17 ; Tables 4, 5, 13):

The opisthocranium is short comparatively to the face ( Fig. 17A, B ). In dorsal view, the braincase has parallel lateral sides. The temporal lines are weak and converge to the rear. The nuchal crest is moderately developed. The occiput is rather low and wide (Table 13). The occipital bone is pentagonal-shaped and faces posteriorly. The mastoids are exposed mostly laterally. The basioccipital has strong, ridge-like posterior tuberosities and ridge-like anterior tuberosities that are elongated posteriorly. The foramina ovale open anterior to the anterior tuberosities. The auditory bulla is small. The main axis of the dorsal part of the paroccipital processes is obliquely oriented compared to the sagital plane. The “V”-shaped choanae open distal to the M3, just behind the lateral indentations of the palate. The dorsal orbital rims do not project significantly. The anterior rim of the orbit is placed above the M3 ( Fig. 17A, B ). The lacrymal fossa is deep and elongated (MNHN.F. MAR1307). The infraorbital foramina are small and open above the P2-P3 limit. The nasals are long (Table 13) and most probably they have lateral flanges anteriorly. The frontal area is wide and in lateral view it forms an open angle with the parietal. The frontals between the horn-cores are elevated and convex. The midfrontal and fronto-parietal sutures are complicated and form together a “Y”. The supraorbital foramina are small, round and not sunken into depressions. The postcornual fossae are large and shallow. The horncores are placed posterior to the orbit, uniformly divergent from the base to the tip ( Fig. 17A, B, D ). They are robust at the base with greatest basal axis trending antero-posteriorly (Table 13). The posterior keel is strong as in P. houtumschindleri and it is usually associated with a furrow in the basal part ( Fig. 17C, D ). The torsion is loose and the spiralling very close, so that the overall pattern is that of twisting along a straight axis but less tightly than in Palaeoreas Gaudry, 1861 . The horn-cores describe 1½ coil. There is no anterior keel but a porous zone is present anteriorly, close to the base.

The P2 and P3 are bilobed lingually with protocone distinct from hypocone. The P4 is less molarized and bears a posterior spur in the central fossette. The molar enamel is wrinkled and the styles are strong, especially the parastyle and the mesostyle. A hypoconal spur is present in some M2 and M3. The

Kostopoulos D. S. & Bernor R. L.

TABLE 13. — Cranial and horn-core measurements (in mm) of Protragelaphus skouzesi Dames, 1883 from Maragheh, Pikermi and Samos. For abbreviations see text.

M1 bears a small basal pillar. The p3 and p4 have independent and strong paraconid.The metaconid of the p4 extends strongly forwards. The lower molars lack a goat fold, the m1 has a small basal pillar and the third lobe of m3 consists of a single cuspid.

Protragelaphus skouzesi remains a rather rare late Miocene bovid species known from Greece (Pikermi, Samos, Halmyropotamos; Roussiakis 2009) and Maragheh. Geraads & Güleç (1999) described a few more isolated horn-cores from some Turkish localities, whereas more recently Roussiakis (2009) described some more frontlets from the locality Chomateri ( Greece). Evidently the Samos frontlet (and probably the Manisa horn-core; Geraads & Güleç 1999: fig. 2d, e) presents significantly tighter horn-core torsion than the Pikermi, Chomateri and Maragheh specimens, whereas the Pikermi and Chomateri horncores appear to be less mediolaterally compressed (CI = 78.5-96.5%, n = 14; Roussiakis 2009 and pers. data) than those from Maragheh (CI = 70-74.5%, n = 4) and Samos (CI = 74.5%, n = 2). Nevertheless, these differences can be accommodated within intraspecific variability (Table 13).

Figures

FIG. 17.— Protragelaphus skouzesi Dames,1883 crania from Maragheh:A, MNHN.F.MAR1307 in lateral view;B-D, MNHN.F.MAR1397 in lateral (B), ventral (C) and dorsal (D) views. Scale bar: 5 cm.