First adequately-known quadrupedal sirenian from Eurasia (Eocene, Bay of Biscay, Huesca, northeastern Spain).

ABSTRACT: Sirenians are the only extant herbivorous mammals fully adapted to an aquatic lifestyle. They originated in Africa during the Paleocene from an undetermined clade of afrotherian mammals, and by the end of the Eocene they were widely distributed across the tropical latitudes. Here we introduce Sobrarbesiren cardieli gen. et sp. nov. It is the first adequately-known quadrupedal sirenian from Eurasia and the oldest record of this clade from western Europe. Fossils have been recovered from the middle Lutetian (SBZ15) site of Castejón de Sobrarbe-41 (Huesca, Spain), and comprise many cranial and postcranial remains, including pelvic girdle and hind limb bones, from at least six sirenian individuals of different ontogenetic stages. Sobrarbesiren shows a suite of characters previously considered

SUBMITTER: Diaz-Berenguer E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5865116 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature