New species of Rotundomys (Cricetinae) from the Late Miocene of Spain and its bearing on the phylogeny of Cricetulodon and Rotundomys.

ABSTRACT: The material of Rotundomys (Rodentia, Cricetinae) from the Late Miocene fossiliferous complex of Cerro de los Batallones (Madrid, Spain) is described and compared with all species currently placed in the genera Rotundomys and Cricetulodon. Both the morphology and size variation encompassed in the collection of specimens from Batallones suggest they belong to a single taxon different from the other known species of these genera. A new species Rotundomys intimus sp. nov. is, therefore, named for it. A cladistic analysis, which is the first ever published concernig these taxa, has been conducted to clear up the phylogenetic position of the new species. Our results suggest that Rotundomys intimus sp. nov. inserts between R. mundi and R. sabatieri as a relatively primitive taxon inside the clad

SUBMITTER: Lopez-Antonanzas R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4229238 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature