New palaeothentid marsupial from the Middle Miocene of Bolivia

Authors: Goin F.J.¹; Sánchez–Villagra M.R.²; Kay R.F.³; Anaya–Daza F.⁴; Takai M.⁵

Source: Palaeontology, Volume 46, Number 2, March 2003 , pp. 307-315(9)

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Abstract:

The new species Acdestis maddeni is described based on the most complete skull of a palaeothentid marsupial known so far. The skull preserves most of the upper dentition and of the ear region, the latter an anatomical region previously unknown in this extinct family. A right maxillary fragment including C–M2 also belongs to the new species. The specimens come from the middle Miocene localities of Rosario and Quebrada Honda in southernmost Bolivia. The generic allocation of the new species is somewhat problematic, given that most of the taxonomy of fossil palaeothentids is based on lower dentitions. Compared to that of caenolestids, the skull of A. maddeni is much larger, with a shorter and broader snout, a proportionally narrower interorbital constriction, and a less globular, more triangular–shaped braincase in dorsal view.

Keywords: Marsupialia; Palaeothentidae; Caenolestidae; Bolivia; Miocene; anatomy

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0031-0239.2003.00300.x

Affiliations: 1: Museo de La Plata, Argentina fgoin@museo.fcngm.unlp.edu.ar 2: Universita¨t Tu¨bingen, Germany marcelo.sanchez@uni–tuebingen.de 3: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, USA, 4: Universidad Autónoma ‘Tomás Frías’, Facultad de Ingeniería Geológica, Bolivia, 5: Kyoto University, Inuyama, Japan

Publication date: 2003-03-01