Journal Article

First Central American Record of Anthracotheriidae (Mammalia, Bothriodontinae) from the Early Miocene of Panama

Jaramillo, Carlos A, Bloch, Jonathan I, MacFadden, Bruce J, Rincon, Aldo F

2013

Overview

A new species of bothriodontine anthracothere, Arretotherium meridionale, is described from the early Miocene (Arikareean North America Land Mammal Age) Las Cascadas fossil assemblage in Panama, Central America. Fossils of A. meridionale are the first record of an anthracothere from the New World Tropics. Among anthracotheres, A. meridionale is most similar to A. acridens from the middle Arikareean from Texas in having a relatively deep and robust jaw, high and sharp cusps on the lower molars, short c-p1 diastema, and absence of a mesiolingual metacristid. A. meridionale differs from other species in being generally larger, two lower incisors (rather than three), prehypocristid never reaching the postprotocristid, more apical junction between postprotocristid and postmetacristid, mesiolingual entocristid transversely notching preentocrisitid, and transverse valley tapered lingually by prehypocristid. Although cladistic analysis of 28 anthracotheriids coded for 51 characters supports a relationship between A. meridionale and A. acridens, some presumably convergent dental characteristics are also similar to certain Oligocene-Miocene Eurasian bothriodontines. The presence of Arretotherium in the Las Cascadas Formation in Panama, and absence in the later Centenario Fauna, shows that primitive bothriodontines entered into Central America by the early Miocene before disappearing from the New World during the late early-middle Miocene.

• Subject: Mammalia