Taxonomic revision of the genus Leptoplesictis (Viverridae, Mammalia) with description of new fossils from Grillental VI (Namibia) and Moratilla 2 (Spain)
The early Miocene locality of Grillental VI (21-19 Ma) has yielded an interesting assemblage of fossil carnivores, including a new mandible of the small viverrid classified as Leptoplesictis senutae Morales et al. 2008, which permits a better idea of the species to be obtained. In addition an unpublished mandible from the Spanish locality Moratilla 2, provisionally identified as Leptoplesictis aurelianensis Schlosser, 1888, gives us the possibility to make direct comparisons between these fossils, which, because of their small dimensions have not been well figured in the literature. Comparisons are made with mandibles of Leptoplesictis filholi Gaillard 1899, from the French locality of La Grive-Saint-Alban curated at the NHMUK, London, upon which Forsyth Major, 1903, based the new genus Leptoplesictis. The result is that the less hypercarnivorous African species can be segregated into a different genus from Leptoplesictis, for which a new genus is proposed, Dunictis nov. gen., with Dunictis senutae (Morales et al. 2008) as the type species, which is from Grillental VI, Namibia. Contrary to general opinion, the European forms of Leptoplesictis do not constitute a homogeneous assemblage, but instead comprise two divergent lineages. The first of these, from the locality of La Grive-Saint-Alban, represented by Leptoplesictis filholi Gaillard, 1899, has a less-reduced m/2, a robust m/1 and gracile premolars, which is joined by a second species of the genus, Leptoplesictis peignei from the late middle Miocene of Thailand, which even though it has relatively more robust premolars, shows an overall morphology which is closer to this genus than to any other. The second lineage is characterised by strong reduction of the m/2, a very sectorial m/1 and more robust premolars, for which we propose a new genus Forsythictis nov. gen., of which the type species is F. ibericus from the locality of Moratilla 2, and which includes the classic species Forsythictis aurelianensis (Schlosser, 1888) and the poorly known species Forsythictis atavus (Beaumont, 1973). Keywords: Carnivora, Feliformia, Viverridae, Miocene, Africa, Eurasia, Biochronology, Biogeography.
Communications of the Geological Survey of Namibia