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Batallones
Cerro de los Batallones (''Hill of the Battalions'') is a hill at Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain where a number of fossil sites from the Upper Miocene ( MN10) have been found. Nine sites have been discovered with predominantly vertebrate fossils, invertebrates and plants being less represented. The first deposits were discovered accidentally in July 1991. Batallones-10 (B-10) is considered to contain the oldest representative of fossils. Fossils Nearly the entire proportion of fossils of Batallones-1 were of Carnivorans. The species of sabre-tooth cat known as ''Promegantereon ogygia'' and ''Machairodus aphanistus'' (the first complete skull) were found at B-1, as was ''Simocyon'' a type of red panda. In regards to the saber-tooth cats, Batallones-1 represents an ideal site for recording the percentage of specimens for which breakage of the upper canines occurred. Promegantereon, Machairodus and Paramachairodus are perfect examples of this at Batallones; fossils indicate a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batallones 10 - 2015 Field Works 01
Cerro de los Batallones (''Hill of the Battalions'') is a hill at Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain where a number of fossil sites from the Upper Miocene (European land mammal age, MN10) have been found. Nine sites have been discovered with predominantly vertebrate fossils, invertebrates and plants being less represented. The first deposits were discovered accidentally in July 1991. Batallones-10 (B-10) is considered to contain the oldest representative of fossils. Fossils Nearly the entire proportion of fossils of Batallones-1 were of Carnivorans. The species of sabre-tooth cat known as ''Promegantereon ogygia'' and ''Machairodus aphanistus'' (the first complete skull) were found at B-1, as was ''Simocyon'' a type of red panda. In regards to the saber-tooth cats, Batallones-1 represents an ideal site for recording the percentage of specimens for which breakage of the upper canines occurred. Promegantereon, Machairodus and Paramachairodus are perfect examples of this at Batal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leptofelis
''Leptofelis'' is an extinct genus of ''Pseudaelurus''-grade felid found in Spain. Etymology The generic name ''Leptofelis'' comes from the Latin words for swift, ''lepto'', and cat, ''felis'', essentially translating to "swift cat". The specific name ''vallesiensis'' was given because the species was found in localities of Vallesian age. Taxonomy and phylogeny ''Leptofelis vallesiensis'' was first described as ''Styriofelis vallesiensis'' in 2012, based on several specimens from Batallones-1 and Batallones-3, a pair of Vallesian-age localities in Spain. The specimens included a partial but well-preserved skeleton and several skulls. However, a review of the species in 2017 concluded that it was sufficiently different from other ''Styriofelis'' species as to warrant a new genus, and was therefore reassigned as ''Leptofelis vallesiensis''. Description ''Leptofelis vallesiensis'' is theorized to have had long and slender legs, and to weigh between , similar in size to a caraca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machairodus
''Machairodus'' (from el, μαχαίρα , 'knife' and el, ὀδούς 'tooth') is a genus of large machairodontine saber-toothed cats that lived in Africa, Eurasia and North America during the late Miocene. It is the animal from which the subfamily Machairodontinae gets its name and has since become a wastebasket taxon over the years as many genera of sabertooth cat have been and are still occasionally lumped into it. Discovery ''Machairodus'' was first named in 1832, by German Naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. Though its remains had been known since 1824, it was believed by Georges Cuvier that the fossils had come from a species of bear, which he called ''Ursus cultridens'' (known today as ''Megantereon'') based on composite sample of teeth from different countries, species and geologic ages, leading to what would become a long series of complications. Kaup however, recognized the teeth as those of felids and promptly reclassified the existing specimens as ''Machairodus'', incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ammitocyon
''Ammitocyon'' is a genus of large sized carnivoran mammals, belonging to the Amphicyonidae ("bear dogs"), that lived during the Late Miocene in what is now Spain. It is notable for its extreme adaptations towards hypercarnivory, its extremely robust skeleton, and was one of the last surviving members of its family. History and naming ''Ammitocyon'' was described in the year 2021 by Morales et al. based on comparatively complete remains, originally classified as belonging to '' Thaumastocyon'', enabling a greater understanding of the subfamily Thaumastocyoninae, hitherto only known from fragmentary material. Holotype is the pair of hemimandibles BAT-3'09.1239 and BAT-3'08.604, which belong to the same individual. BAT-3'10.1689 (a skull with strong signs of corrosion, especially in the dorsal region, belonging to a senile individual) and BAT-3'11.453 (a complete mandible belonging to the same individual), as well as the isolated left m2 BAT-3'09.1124, have been designated as par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Promegantereon
''Promegantereon'' is an extinct genus of machairodont from the Miocene of Europe. It is one of the oldest machairodont cat species in the Smilodontini and is believed to be an ancestor of ''Megantereon'' and ''Smilodon''. Description ''Promegantereon'' is one of the oldest known true saber-toothed cats. Its fossils were discovered in Cerro de los Batallones, a Late Miocene fossil site near Madrid, Spain. However, it was only known from skull fragments from Eppelsheim until the early 1990s when the Cerro de los Battlones fossil beds were discovered. The animal was about high at the shoulder, similar to a leopard in size, but with a more supple body. The shape of its limbs suggests that it may have been an agile, scansorial climber, and could have hunted relatively large prey thanks to its elongate, flattened upper canines. In appearance it was highly similar to the contemporary ''Paramachairodus'', so much so, they were and are often considered to be the same genus. However, d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protictitherium
''Protictitherium'' ( gr. first striking beast) is an extinct genus of hyaena that lived across Europe and Asia during the Middle and Late Miocene, it is often considered to be the first hyaena since it contains some of the oldest fossils of the family. They were especially prolific in Turkey, where every species has been registered. Description ''Protictitherium'' was akin to civets both in size, being around 50 cm (19 inches) tall at their shoulder; and in weight, with calculations suggesting something around 4-8 kg (8-18 lb), with differences between species. It has been suggested that ''Protictitherium'' was a partly arboreal predator, due to their semi-retractable claws, perhaps to avoid larger predators . While they possessed somewhat large molars and premolars, their bite wasn't remarkably strong. Species There are generally three recognized species in the genus ''Protictitherium'', though there are some that suggest that species in the genus '' Tungurictis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indarctos
''Indarctos'' is an extinct genus of bear, endemic to North America, Europe and Asia during the Miocene. It was present from ~11.1 to 5.3 Ma, existing for approximately . The oldest member is from Arizona (~11.1—7.7 Ma) and youngest is (~9.0—5.3 Ma) from Kazakhstan. In North America this animal was contemporary with ''Plionarctos'' (~10.3—3.3 Ma). Discovery, history and taxonomy Discoveries A molar (designated to MNA 1839/km-83) discovered from the Karabulak formation in 1988 was tentatively assigned to ''Indarctos sp''. In 2017 it was re examined and assigned to ''I. punjabensis.'' The tooth was found to belong to a young individual, which might possibly be a male, and is the largest tooth known from this species. This might be due to sexual dimorphism since extant male bears are larger than the females. Species ''Indarctos'' is known from several species spread widely across Eurasia, North America, and North Africa, however, most of them are known from fragm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eomellivora
''Eomellivora'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric mustelids, closely related to the honey badger, known from Eurasia and North America, and tentatively Africa. It was one of the biggest mustelids ever known, bigger and more hypercarnivorous than the modern wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul .... ''Eomellivora'' was long thought to contain only one species, ''E. wimani'', with Wolsan and Semenov (1996) treating ''E. piveteaui'' as a younger subspecies of ''E. wimani'', but new remains of ''E. piveteaui'' described in 2015 allowed for recognition of ''E. piveteaui'' as distinct from ''E. wimani'', but also treatment of ''E. ursogulo'' (Orlov, 1948) and ''E. hungarica'' Kretzoi, 1942 from the eastern Paratethys region. The placement of the African species ''Eom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magericyon
''Magericyon'' is an extinct genus of Amphicyonid ("bear-dog") that lived during the Miocene 10-9 Ma (Vallesian Age) in what is now Spain. Description The appearance of this animal was vaguely similar to that of a particularly robust, large felid, but the skull resembles that of a canid or an ursid, like that of many amphicyonids. Unlike most other amphicyonids, ''Magericyon'' had teeth associated with those of a hypercarnivore, with laterally flattened canines, the third premolar having a single root, the absence of second premolars and a metaconid on its lower molars, with a reduction in the second upper molar. The scapula and the front leg showed primitive features such as an acromion in the shoulder with a reduced caudoventral projection and post scapular pit.Peigné, S., Salesa, M. J., Antón, M. & Morales, J., 2008: A new amphicyonine (Carnivora: Amphicyonidae) from the upper Miocene of Batallones-1, Madrid, Spain. Palaeontology: Vol. 51, #4, pp. 943Siliceo, G., Salesa, M. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Fossil Sites
This list of fossil sites is a worldwide list of localities known well for the presence of fossils. Some entries in this list are notable for a single, unique find, while others are notable for the large number of fossils found there. Many of the entries in this list are considered Lagerstätten (sedimentary deposits that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues). Lagerstätten are indicated by a note () in the noteworthiness column. Fossils may be found either associated with a geological formation or at a single geographic site. Geological formations consist of rock that was deposited during a specific period of time. They usually extend for large areas, and sometimes there are different important sites in which the same formation is exposed. Such sites may have separate entries if they are considered to be more notable than the formation as a whole. In contrast, extensive formations associated with large areas m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetralophodon
''Tetralophodon'' ("four-ridged tooth") is an extinct proboscidean genus belonging to the superfamily Elephantoidea. Taxonomy The genus ''Tetralophodon'' (meaning "four-ridged tooth") was named in the mid-19th century with the discovery of the specialized teeth. Description ''Tetralophodon'' was an elephant-like animal which existed through the late Miocene to the Middle Pliocene epochs, approximately 10.9 million years. Like the gomphotheres, to which it was not closely related, ''Tetralophodon'' had four tusks and a trunk. They are believed to have been about tall at the shoulder and up to 10 tonnes in weight, larger than the size of the present Asian elephant, with a long trunk and incisors ranging up to long. These incisors are believed to have been used as a defense mechanism. The large, four-cusped cheek teeth of these animals are about by , about six times the size of a normal human tooth. These low-crowned, bunodont teeth were adapted for crushing and grinding, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene Life
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
