Cynelos Jourdan 1862
- Dataset
- New Amphicyonids (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Moghra, Early Miocene, Egypt
- Rank
- GENUS
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Carnivora
- family
- Amphicyonidae
- genus
- Cynelos
description
Despite acknowledging the close morphological relationship between “ Hecubides ”, Cynelos macrodon, and “ Cynelos sp. nov. ” from Moghra (Morlo et al. 2007), Morales et al. (2016) moved these large Cynelos species from the genus Hecubides / Cynelos to Afrocyon, a monotypic taxon erected on the basis of a partial mandible from the Early Miocene of Gebel Zelten in Libya (Arambourg 1961). This assignment effectively promoted the view that Cynelos was a taxon restricted to northern continents, and that all Early Miocene African amphicyonids belong to either the small Hecubides or the large Afrocyon, with the exception of Amphicyon giganteus from Arrisdrift, Namibia. Recently, Adrian et al. (2018) described new Early Miocene material from Kalodirr, Kenya, and attributed it to C. macrodon, although without mentioning the previous allocation of Cynelos to the North African taxon Afrocyon. Here we follow Adrian et al. (2018) and discuss clear differences between Cynelos and Afrocyon, which unite C. macrodon with C. lemanensis, C. euryodon and other African specimens. Consequently, we not only re-establish the occurrence of Cynelos in Africa, but also recognize six African species in the genus: small C. euryodon and C. minor, large C. macrodon, C. ginsburgi n. comb., Cynelos anubisi n. sp. from Moghra, and a very large species from Buluk, Kenya.
diagnosis
DIAGNOSIS. — Emended after Peigné & Heizmann (2003), Werdelin & Peigné (2010): small to large sized amphicyonids with low, slender mandibles; diastemata between anterior premolars; premolars widest distally; p 4 with strong postprotocuspid; the p 4 is larger in relation to m 1 and to m 2 than in Amphicyon, the tip of the main cusp of p 4 does not project posteriorly, and the p 4 talonid is wider; m 1 with low metaconid and tall hypoconid crest, entoconid crest distinct but low, talonid wider than trigonid; m 2 mesiodistal length about two thirds the length of m 1, m 2 lacking the paraconid, with a long and wide talonid, protoconid lacking a distal crest; m 3 single-rooted and not double rooted as in Afrocyon, P 4 with small protocone, M 1 rectangular, M 2 slightly more reduced than M 1, with paracone slightly larger than metacone, and v-shaped hypocone crests in African specimens. REFERRED AFRICAN SPECIES. — Cynelos anubisi n. sp., from Moghra (includes “ Amphicyon sp. ” in Morales et al. 2010: fig. 4), Cynelos euryodon (Savage, 1965), Cynelos ginsburgi (Morales, Pickford, Soria & Fraile, 1998) n. comb., Cynelos macrodon (Savage, 1965), Cynelos minor (Morales & Pickford, 2008), Cynelos sp. from Buluk, Kenya (KM WS 12663, Anemone et al. 2005).
discussion
REMARKS
materials_examined
TYPE SPECIES. — C. lemanensis (Pomel, 1846), subsequent designation by Jourdan (1862).
Name
- Homonyms
- Cynelos Jourdan 1862