A new species of Paludocyon (Carnivora: Amphicyonidae) from the early Middle Miocene of els Casots (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Barcelona, Spain)

Abstract

The early Middle Miocene (15.9 Ma) site of els Casots (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain) has yielded a rich vertebrate assemblage, including abundant carnivoran remains that mostly remain unpublished. Here we describe a new species of the amphicyonid genus Paludocyon based on a compressed cranium with well-preserved teeth and an isolated lower molar (m2) from els Casots. Paludocyon moyasolai sp. nov., included in the subfamily Amphicyoninae, is characterized by a notably enlarged M2, which is buccolingually broader than the M1, and by a the relatively large size of the M3, both traits being absent in other species of Paludocyon. A phylogenetic analysis, conducted on European and North American species assigned to Cynelos and Paludocyon, indicates that Cynelos is paraphyletic but supports the monophyly of Paludocyon, with the new species being recovered as its basal-most member.