Gigarton, Hooker & Russell, 2012

Hooker, Jerry J. & Russell, Donald E., 2012, Early Palaeogene Louisinidae (Macroscelidea, Mammalia), their relationships and north European diversity, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 164 (4), pp. 856-936 : 889-890

GENUS GIGARTON GEN. NOV.

Type species: Gigarton meyeri sp. nov., late Thanetian, Cernaysian ELMA, Cernay, Berru .

Included species: Gigarton sigogneauae sp. nov., late Thanetian, Cernaysian ELMA, Cernay, Berru. Gigarton pellouini sp. nov., late Thanetian, Cernaysian ELMA, Cernay, Berru.

Etymology: From the Greek gigarton, grape-stone, in allusion to the size and general shape of the teeth and their provenance in the vineyard region of Champagne. Neuter.

Diagnosis: Louisinidae with cheek teeth with semibulbous to bulbous cusps and variably weak crests. P 4 molariform with equal-sized paracone and metacone, large hypocone. P 4 postmetacrista short and mesiodistally orientated (shared with Dipavali ). P 3 with low talonid basin with hypoconid, hypoconulid, and entoconid. P 4 with: gently sloping paracristid, with virtually no paraconid, and metaconid much lower than protoconid (shared with Dipavali ); talonid as wide as and nearly as high as trigonid, with hypoconid, hypoconulid, and entoconid. M 1–2 with: metacone larger than paracone; mesially pointed parastyle (shared with Berrulestes and Dipavali ); weak to absent postflexus; central valley longitudinally grooved (shared with Thryptodon ); paraconule absent; metaconule weak to absent. M 1–2 centrocrista buccally concave and distal cingulum dipping basally in middle (shared with Dipavali ). M 1 paraconid represented by faint, low, mesial cingulid. M 1 with: metaconid much smaller than protoconid; talonid with cristid obliqua with steep main slope (shared with Dipavali ); mesially positioned hypoconid. (Lower teeth and premolars are unknown for G. louisi , but generic characters inferred for all three species.)

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