Microdyromys remmerti, sp. nov., A new gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Aragonian type area (Miocene, Calatayud-Montalbn basin, Spain)

Abstract

A new species of Gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia), Microdyromys remmerti, sp. nov., from the Aragonian type area in the Calatayud-Montalbn basin (Miocene, Spain) is described. This species is characterized by combining a relatively large size and a moderately complicated to very complicated and irregular dental morphology. It has a wide and continuous range of morphological variation with intermediate forms filling all the range. In the studied localities, M. remmerti, sp. nov., displays a general increase in the complexity of the dental pattern through time, showing a unique pattern of addition of extra ridges in the lower molars. Comparisons with morphologically similar species are discussed; a taxonomical and nomenclatorial issue regarding two named species of the genus is clarified. The combination of the morphometrical features that characterize M. remmerti, sp. nov., have never been found in any other glirid material outside the Calatayud-Montalbn basin, thus reinforcing the idea of the endemic character of the Gliridae faunas from the Iberian Miocene. Microdyromys koenigswaldi is proposed as most probable ancestor of M. remmerti, sp. nov. The divergent evolution of the latter species is discussed in its paleoecological context. The functional consequences of this morphological divergence could be related also with the opening of new ecological niches during the middle Aragonian (Middle Miocene)