Mustelictis cf. major ( Teilhard, 1915 )

Bonis, Louis de, Gardin, Axelle & Blondel, Cécile, 2019, Carnivora from the early Oligocene of the ‘ Phosphorites du Quercy’ in southwestern France, Geodiversitas 41 (15), pp. 601-621 : 614

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5252/geodiversitas2019v41a15
publication LSID	urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9DD3CC29-3AEA-44B8-8E8F-6AD882DF5B1C
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3703542
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A48799-1A6F-FF91-FF54-F9996BCDFADE
treatment provided by	Valdenar
scientific name	Mustelictis cf. major ( Teilhard, 1915 )
status

Treatment

Mustelictis cf. major ( Teilhard, 1915)

( Fig. 4A View FIG )

TYPE SPECIMEN. — Holotype by monotypy in Teilhard 1915: 60, pl. V, fig. 9; MNHN.F.QU9133 .

NEW MATERIAL. — UM VD 17 part of right hemi-mandible with alveolus of p1, p2, fragments of p3 roots, p4-m1.

DESCRIPTION

The right hemi-mandible VD17 is broken off in front of the p1 alveolus and behind the m1. The mandibular corpus is relatively shallow with a small mental foramen under the missing p3. The p2 is high, slender, elongate and asymmetric, similar in morphology to that of M. olivieri, although larger. The p4 is also high and slender, with a well-marked pacd and two upturned spurs mesially and distally. The m1 has a high and trenchant protoconid, a smaller paraconid and a reduced but not distally placed metaconid; the talonid displays a moderately trenchant hypoconid, a low and thin entocristid and a slightly concave basin that is open distally.

These characters match those of a species of Mustelictis . Nevertheless, we are facing the recurring problem of identifying lower dentitions based on upper ones, and vice-versa. Mustelictis piveteaui is a skull and we do not know the mandible, whereas M. olivieri is too small. Some species have been identified as “ Plesictis ” in the Quercy and most of them would fit Mustelictis . Mustelictis crassirostris ( Teilhard, 1915) was established on the specimen described by Filhol as Cynodictis crassirostris viverroïde ( Filhol 1882: 58, 59) retaining the same name because the species Cynodictis crassirostris is still considered valid. Compared to the type specimen (MNHN.F.QU9135), VD17 differs in the shallower dentary, the relatively smaller p4 and the less trenchant talonid of m1. It also differs from M. robustus (Filhol, 1877) in the higher p2 and p4 relative to m1 and the pointed p2. The closest species seems to be M. major ( Teilhard, 1915) which displays a pointed p2 and a similar p4. Thus, we identify this hemi-mandible as Mustelictis cf. major. A definitive identification will be probably possible with more complete specimens, especially with m2 ( Table 3 View TABLE ).