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Anthracotheres from Wadi Moghra, Early Miocene, Egypt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2015

Ellen R. Miller ,
Gregg F. Gunnell ,
Mohamed Abdel Gawad ,
Mohamed Hamdan ,
Ahmed N. El-Barkooky ,
Mark T. Clementz  and
Safiya M. Hassan
Ellen R. Miller
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC 27106, USA,
Gregg F. Gunnell
Affiliation:
Duke Lemur Center Division of Fossil Primates, Durham, NC 27705, USA,
Mohamed Abdel Gawad
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, ; ; ;
Mohamed Hamdan
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, ; ; ;
Ahmed N. El-Barkooky
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, ; ; ;
Mark T. Clementz
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA,
Safiya M. Hassan
Affiliation:
Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, ; ; ;
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Abstract

The early Miocene site of Wadi Moghra, Qattara Depression, Egypt, is important for interpreting anthracothere (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) evolution, because the Moghra sediments preserve a higher diversity of anthracotheres than any other pene-contemporaneous site. New specimens from Moghra are described and form the basis for the systematic revision of Moghra anthracotheres provided here. Among the important discoveries recently made at Moghra is the first complete skull of Sivameryx moneyi. Other new specimens described here include two new species of Afromeryx, and a new genus and species, all of which are unique to Moghra. A review of biogeographic information supports the conclusion that three of the Moghra anthracotheres (Brachyodus depereti, B. mogharensis, and Jaggermeryx naida, n. gen. n. sp.) are members of late surviving lineages with a long history in Africa, while three other species (Afromeryx grex, n. sp., A. palustris, n. sp., and Sivameryx moneyi) represent more recent immigrants from Eurasia.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 88 , Issue 5 , September 2014 , pp. 967 - 981
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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