The fossil aardvark Amphiorycteropus gaudryi (Forsyth Major, 1888) from the late Miocene of Kerassia (Euboea, Greece)

ABSTRACT

Remains of the fossil aardvark Amphiorycteropus gaudryi (Orycteropodidae, Tubulidentata) from the late Miocene locality of Kerassia in Greece are here described and compared with material of other orycteropodid species. The studied material includes a partially preserved skull, two mandibular fragments, two lumbar vertebrae, the first rather complete sacrum of the species and some appendicular skeletal remains. The new material reveals noteworthy information on the diagnostic characteristics of the species, such as the variable morphology of the foramen magnum. Furthermore, we comment on some ecomorphological features associated with the fossorial habits of A. gaudryi and discuss its tail length. Lastly, the biogeographical distribution of the species is examined. Emphasis is given to its noticeable absence in the classical locality of Pikermi (Attica) and its presence on Samos Island, at a slightly younger age. In Kerassia, A. gaudryi does not occur in the lower fossiliferous horizon, but only in the stratigraphically younger, upper horizon. Since A. gaudryi is known from MN11 to MN13, its exclusive occurrence in the upper fossiliferous horizon of Kerassia could be connected to spatial and temporal environmental changes of the Eastern Mediterranean during the late Miocene.

KEYWORDS:

• Tubulidentata
• Orycteropodidae
• Turolian
• Eastern Mediterranean

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the curators Andy Currant, Pip Brewer and Roula Pappa (NHML), George Koufos and Dimitrios Kostopoulos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), Thomas Kaiser, Frederik Jessen (CeNak), Geraldine Veron (MNHN) and Robin Marchant (MGL) for providing access to collections. The comments and suggestions of the reviewers, George Koufos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and Thomas Lehmann (Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum), improved significantly the original manuscript. Furthermore, we would like to thank the Editor in Chief Dr Gareth Dyke for his constant support.

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Additional information

Funding

The excavations in Kerassia from 1992 to 2015, under the supervision of G. Theodorou, were funded by local authorities, the General Secretariat for Research and Technologies of Greece and the NKUA Research Account projects [70/4/1394, 70/3/2842, 70/3/3922, 70/3/8567 and 70/3/12301].