Spalacotheriid ‘symmetrodonts’ from the Early Cretaceous of Spain

ABSTRACT

Spalacotheriids, basal trechnotheres with an acutely angled, reversed-triangle pattern of major molar cusps, are relatively rare pan-Laurasian mammals that ranged through much of the Cretaceous but are generally not well represented in the fossil record. Herein we describe newly collected specimens from the Molino Alto 1 locality, Teruel Province, Spain, and review previously described materials from the nearby locality of Galve; the sites lie in the same horizon in the upper El Castellar Formation and are of early Barremian age. On this basis, we recognize and name Aliaga molinensis, gen. et sp. nov., and provisionally place in the same genus a previously described species, cf. Aliaga henkeli, comb. nov., which appears to be the largest known spalacotheriid. The two species are characterized by a distinctive, multicuspate cingulid on lower cheek teeth. Based on acuteness of molar cusp triangulation and other features (e.g., planar molar shearing surfaces, elongation and cusp pattern of penultimate premolar, reduction of last molar, simplification of upper molar crown pattern), the species are referred to the Spalacolestinae. This subfamily is most diverse in North America, where it ranged from Albian–Campanian, but first appears in the Barremian of Western Europe, supporting the hypothesis that the group had a Eurasian origin and later dispersed to North America.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are especially grateful to Z.-X. Luo and S. C. Sweetman for their review comments, which significantly improved the manuscript. This paper forms part of the project CGL2010-16447 and is subsidized by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Government of Aragón, European Social Fund (‘Grupos Consolidados’ and ‘Dirección General de Patrimonio Cultural’). M.M.A is supported by a FPI grant (BES-2008-005538) from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, J.M.G. is supported by a FPI grant (B064/08B) from the Government of Aragón. The authors would like to acknowledge the use of Servicio General de Apoyo a la Investigación-SAI, Universidad de Zaragoza, and C. Gallego for her help with the SEM images. We thank J. Gasca's family for their hospitality in Allepuz. R. Rabal and A. Mendez helped in washing-sieving of the sediments. Support for R.L.C. was provided by grants from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS-PRF no. 38572-AC8) and the National Science Foundation (grants DEB 9401994 and 987017).