Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-01T01:53:52.043Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A new species of Leptarctus (Carnivora, Mustelidae) from the Late Miocene of Texas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Jong-Deock Lim ,
Larry D. Martin  and
Robert W. Wilson
Jong-Deock Lim
Affiliation:
1School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 151-742
Larry D. Martin
Affiliation:
2Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center 3Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045,
Robert W. Wilson
Affiliation:
2Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Leptarctus is a poorly known fossil carnivore that ranges through the Miocene of North America and Inner Mongolia, China (Lim, 1996; Zhai, 1964). Though it has been one of the least studied carnivores, more than 20 localities in North America have produced Leptarctus (Lim, 1999). The characters diagnosing Leptarctus as a mustelid include absence of M2, absence of a notch between the blades of the upper carnassial, and a reduced dentition with loss of PI and pi. Though Leptarctus is a mustelid, the teeth bear many similarities to those of procyonids, Procyon lotor and Nasua nasua and stand as a remarkable example of dental convergence (Leidy, 1856; Lim, 1999). Unlike other mustelids, Leptarctus has prominent double sagittal crests, heavy zygomatic arches, a prominent occipital crest, a well-developed hypocone on P4, labially curved upper canines, grooved lower canines, raccoon-like mandibles, elongated metatarsals, and unique bony projections on the tympanic bullae (Lim, 1999).

Type
Paleontological Notes
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 75 , Issue 5 , September 2001 , pp. 1043 - 1046
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baskin, J. 1998. Mustelidae, p. 152–173. In Christine, M. J., Kathleen, M. S., and Jacobs, L. L. (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America, 1: Terrestrial Carnivores, Ungulates, and Ungulatelike Mammals. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Bowditch, T. E. 1821. An analysis of the natural classifications of Mammalia for the Use of students and travellers. J. Smith, Paris, 115 p.Google Scholar
Fischer von Waldheim, G. 1817. Adversaria zoologica. Memoires de la Société impériale des naturalistes de Moscou, 5:368–428.Google Scholar
Gazin, C. L. 1936. A new mustelid carnivore from the Neocene beds of Northwestern Nebraska. Journal of Washington Academy of Science, 26:199–207.Google Scholar
Leidy, J. 1856. Notices of extinct Vertebrata discovered by Dr. F. V. Hayden, during the expedition to the Sioux County under the command of Lieut G. K. Warren. Proceedings of Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia, 8:311–312.Google Scholar
Lim, J.-D. 1996. Dental evidence for Leptarctus as a frugivorous mustelid. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 16(3):48A.Google Scholar
Lim, J.-D. 1997. Function of bony projections on the tympanic bullae of Leptarctus . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 17(3):60A.Google Scholar
Lim, J.-D. 1998. Functional morphology of Leptarctus . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 18(3):59A.Google Scholar
Lim, J.-D. 1999. Systematics and functional morphology of Leptarctus (Mammalia: Mustelidae). Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Kansas, Lawrence, 151 p.Google Scholar
Lim, J.-D., and Miao, D. 2000. New species of Leptarctus (Carnivora: Mustelidae) from the Miocene of Nebraska, USA. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 38(1):52–57Google Scholar
Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae (10th edition). Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, 824 p.Google Scholar
Macfadden, B. J. 1997. Fossil Mammals of Florida, p. 119–138. In Randazzo, A. F. and Jones, D. S. (eds.), The Geology of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Olsen, S. J. 1958. The skull of Leptarctus ancipidens from the Florida Miocene. Special Publication No. 2. Contribution to Florida Vertebrate Paleontology Paper, 2:1–11.Google Scholar
Rosenzweig, L. 1990. Anatomy of the cat. Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Dubuque, 347 p.Google Scholar
Schultz, G. E. 1977. Guidebook: Field Conference on Late Cenozoic Biostratigraphy of the Texas Panhandle and Adjacent Oklahoma. Canyon, Tex: Special publication of the Killgore Research Center, Department of Geology and Anthropology, West Texas State University 1:1–160.Google Scholar
Webb, S. D. 1981. The Thomas Farm fossil site. The Plaster jacket, 37:1–33.Google Scholar
Wischnitzer, S. 1993. Atlas and dissection guide for comparative anatomy. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York, 284 p.Google Scholar
Zhai, R.-J. 1964. Leptarctus and other carnivora from the Tung Gur Formation, Inner Mongolia. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 8(1):27–30Google Scholar