Pristifelis Salesa, Antón, Morales & Peigné, 2012

Peigné, Stéphane, 2016, Carnivora, Geodiversitas 38 (2), pp. 197-224 : 219-221

Genus Pristifelis Salesa, Antón, Morales & Peigné, 2012

TYPE SPECIES. — Pristifelis attica (Wagner, 1857) by original designation.

Pristifelis sp. cf. P. attica (Wagner, 1857) ( Fig. 9A, B ; Table 12)

REFERRED MATERIAL FROM KÜÇÜKÇEKMECE. — KÇ 61, right hemimandible with p2-m1.

DESCRIPTION

Mandible ( Fig. 9A, B ; Table 12)

The dentary is broken across the middle of the masseteric fossa. The postcanine diastema is long (7 mm) and dorsally concave. There are two mental foramina, one large at the mid-length of the diastema and a smaller one beneath p3. The anterior rim of the masseteric fossa is at the level of the distal border of the m1.

Dentition ( Fig. 9A, B ; Table 12)

There is no premolar between the canine and p3. The p3 is short and low compared to p4. It has no mesial cuspid and a small distal accessory cuspid. The distal cingulid is long and extended lingually and labially. The tooth is much wider distally than mesially. There is a tiny diastema between p3 and p4. The p4 is taller than the m1 paraconid and of the same height as the m1 protoconid. The main cuspid has a straight mesial rim and a markedly convex distal rim. Accessory cuspids are large and similar in size. The distal accessory cuspid is located labially in the crown. It is separated from the main cuspid by a deep notch and its distal rim is vertical. The distal cingulid is more expanded than in p3. The carnassial is elongated and low compared to p4. Its paraconid is lower than the protoconid and approximately of the same length. The blade of these two cuspids forms an obtuse angle in labial view. The distal face of the protoconid is vertical. The talonid is short and the metaconid is not individualized.

COMPARISONS AND DISCUSSION

Late Miocene small-sized Felinae are not abundant in Europe. Two species are recognized in MN10-MN13 strata: Styriofelis vallesiensis from Batallones-1, Batallones-3 (type locality) in Spain and Maragheh in Iran, and Pristifelis attica from Pikermi (type locality), Samos, and, possibly, Vathylakkos- 3 in Greece, Akkasdağı in Turkey and Las Casiones in Spain ( Roussiakis 2002; Bonis 2005; Salesa et al. 2012a, b). Additional late Miocene similar-sized felines are Felinae indet. from Las Casiones ( Salesa et al. 2012b) and the feline from Dorn-Dürkheim assigned to P. attica by Morlo (1997) but showing a distinct metaconid suggesting a different species (according to Roussiakis 2002: 714), such as S. vallesiensis .

The derived characters that support the assignment of the hemimandible from Küçükçekmece to Pristifelis sp. cf. P. attica are the absence of premolars anterior to p3 and a distally wide p3 lacking a mesial cuspid. The first character distinguishes the specimen from Küçükçekmece from Styriofelis vallesiensis (and from the other species assigned to Styriofelis). The development of the mesial cuspid on the p3 is highly variable, especially in P. attica ( Roussiakis 2002; Salesa et al. 2012b), but in KÇ 61 this tooth lacks a mesial cuspid and is wider distally than in the contemporaneous S. vallesiensis . The Turkish specimen differs from the Turolian P. attica (i.e. specimens included in the comparison: seeTable 12) in having a less reduced talonid and in being smaller in size; it is, however, from a site that is several million years older.

Felidae gen. et sp. indet. medium size ( Fig. 9C, D ; Table 13)

REFERRED MATERIAL FROM KÜÇÜKÇEKMECE. —MNHN.F.TRQ701, proximal phalanx.

DESCRIPTION

The phalanx ( Fig. 9C, D ) is relatively long ( Table 13). It is relatively slender with a dorsoventrally compressed proximal articulation and a distal epiphysis that is narrower than the proximal one ( Table 13).

COMPARISONS AND DISCUSSION

The length of MNHN.F.TRQ701 is much greater than the proximal phalanges of the known small felines from the late Miocene of Europe. On the other hand this phalanx fits with the size range of the proximal phalanges of species such as Promeganteron ogygia ( Salesa 2002) or Metailurus parvulus (Hensel, 1862) ( Roussiakis et al. 2006; for a discussion of the taxonomic status of this species, see also Spassov & Geraads 2015), although not for all measurements. In previous faunal lists of Küçükçekmece, Paramachairodus orientalis (Kittl, 1887) , or Machaerodus orientalis Kittl, 1887 , was mentioned by Malik & Nafiz (1933) and Yalçınlar (1954) and Machairodus (Paramachairodus) orientalis by Ozansoy (1957). One of the specimens assigned to this species was figured by Malik & Nafiz (1933: pl. 12, fig. 7); the only descriptive information is the length of P3 (12 mm) and of the diastema between the canine and P3 (5mm). Unfortunately this specimen was not recovered and was certainly destroyed by fire (see Sen 2016).

MNHN.F.TRQ701 described here and the specimen figured by Malik & Nafiz (see above) both support the presence of a third,medium-sized felid at Küçükçekmece.Both the size and the morphology of this felid exclude an assignment to either Machairodus aphanistus or Pristifelis sp. cf. P. attica already identified from the site. In contrast, the size of the phalanxTRQ701 and/ or that of the P3 figured by Malik & Nafiz (1933) fits well with that of the same elements in late Miocene felids such as Paramachairodus orientalis , Promegantereon ogygia , Metailurus parvulus and ‘ Felis pamiri ’ Ozansoy, 1965 from Yassiören. Compared to these species, however, the P3 of the specimen figured by Malik & Nafiz (1933) is taller relative to its length. The phalanx is not diagnostic at the genus level.

DISCUSSION

The 1942 fire at the Geological Institute of Istanbul University destroyed most of the fossil specimens described by Malik & Nafiz (1933). Among Carnivora , this occurred for specimens assigned to Mustela pentelici and a (more or less important) part of the material assigned to the Phocidae , Indarctos arctoides , cf. Thalassictis sp. and Felidae gen. et sp. indet. medium size.

Nevertheless my study of the few specimens still stored at the ITU and IU and at the MNHN allows identification of 9 taxa of Carnivora at Küçükçekmece: the ursid Indarctos arctoides , the mustelid Sivaonyx hessicus , the phocids Cryptophoca sp. and Phocidae gen. et sp. indet., the percrocutid Dinocrocuta senyureki , the hyaenid cf. Thalassictis sp. and the felids Machairodus aphanistus , Pristifelis sp. cf. P. attica , and Felidae gen. et sp. indet. medium size. It is highly probable that a tenth species close to Mustela pentelici was present, but it is known today only from illustrations ( Malik & Nafiz 1933: pl. 12, fig. 3). As a consequence, my work was mostly based on fossils found by Nicolas (1978) and stored at the MNHN. It is not surprising to find similarities between my faunal list and that which Nicolas proposed, though he did not provide any description nor illustration to support his assignments. Nicolas (1978) mentioned Sivaonyx hessicus , Percrocuta senyureki , Indarctos arctoides and Machairodus aphanistus . Except for the generic assignment of the percrocutid, I confirm the presence of these species (but Sivaonyx hessicus is based, in my study, on a single specimen stored at the ITU, not at the MNHN). However, contrasting with Nicolas’ faunal list, I did not find any evidence supporting the presence of Lutra pontica , Ictitherium sp. cf. I. orbignyi , Felis sp. aff. F. prisca and indeterminate viverrids at Küçükçekmece. The faunal list of Nicolas also included two phocids, Cryptophoca maeotica and Praepusa vindobonensis (= Phoca vindobonensis ). The material stored at the MNHN is probably not diagnostic at the species level, but I agree that it represents at least two species. One is probably close to Cryptophoca maeotica , the other remains undetermined, as Phocidae gen. et sp. indet.

Considering the limited material available to me, the fauna from Küçükçekmece is relatively rich.Taxa are not equally documented though.Five species are known from a single specimen: Indarctos arctoides , Sivaonyx hessicus , cf. Thalassictis sp. , Pristifelis sp. cf. P.attica and Felidae gen. et sp. indet. medium size.In contrast, the majority of the fossils (18 of the 34 specimens) belong to the family Phocidae .The sample from Küçükçekmece in fact represents the only published description of this family in the Neogene of Turkey.Isolated finds are mentioned by Koretsky & Rahmat (2013: 328) without precision and by Ozansoy (1957) from the sites of Ramiz and Osmaniye; Phoca pontica is mentioned but not described from Çanakkale (= ErenkoŸ; Ozansoy 1957).

Overall, the carnivoran fauna from Küçükçekmece indicates a late Miocene age for the locality. Many of the taxa have a range extending over several MN-zones. Thus, Indarctos arctoides , Dinocrocuta senyureki and Machairodus aphanistus are known from MN9 to MN11. One species, Sivaonyx hessicus , was previously known only from early Vallesian strata (MN9). The indeterminate species cf. Thalassictis sp. and Pristifelis sp. cf. P. attica show derived features that are more consistent with a late Vallesian or Turolian age (MN10-MN12). The phocid Cryptophoca sp. is related to a species that has a wide stratigraphic range (late Astaracian-early Turolian; Koretsky 2001: fig. 63).

The site Küçükçekmece has yielded a surprisingly rich fossil fauna of Carnivora . It is unusual in representing one of the rare fossil Miocene assemblages that include both marine and terrestrial taxa. Among the taxa identified, less than half can be assigned to species.The others are documented by too fragmentary remains.Unfortunately there is little chance to find more fossils at Küçükçekmece, which decades ago became a very dense urban area now part of the European part of Istanbul.

Figures

FIG. 9. — A, B, Pristifelis sp.cf. P.attica: KÇ 61, right hemimandible with p2-m1 in labial (A) and occlusal (B) views. C, D, Felidae gen. et sp. indet. cf. Paramachairodus orientalis, MNHN.F.TRQ701, proximal phalanx in proximal (C) and anterior (D) views. Scale bar: 10 mm.