Palaeoreas lindermayeri Wagner, 1848

Geraads, Denis, Spassov, Nikolaï, Hristova, Latinka, Markov, Georgi N. & Tzankov, Tzanko, 2011, Upper Miocene mammals from Strumyani, South-Western Bulgaria, Geodiversitas 33 (3), pp. 451-484 : 474-475

Palaeoreas lindermayeri Wagner, 1848

This antelope is quite common at Strumyani. It is represented by a complete skull, FM-2738, ( Fig. 13A ), two frontlets, FM-2740 ( Fig. 13F ) and FM-2780 ( Fig. 13G ), and several mandibles ( Fig. 13B, C ; measurements: Tables 4; 5). They display the typical features of this species ( Bouvrain 1980; Geraads et al. 2003). The horn-cores are moderately inclined posteriorly, with their anterior edge in the same plane as the frontals, and rather far from the orbits. They are massive relative to skull size, divergent by an angle of about 50°, strongly twisted on their axis but with no spiralling, slightly compressed medio-laterally, with a sharp but not very strong postero-lateral keel and a more blunt anterior one. The mid-frontal suture is fused, only a trace of it being visible on the frontlet; the supra-orbital foramina open into large and deep depressions that are not very wide apart. Both sides of the occipital face mostly posteriorly; the basioccipital is quite long for the size of the animal, it has a long central grove, and strong anterior tuberosities. The parietal has a straight top surface that is much inclined in respect to the facial plane, the frontals being much raised between the horn-cores.

Several mandibles can probably also be referred to this species. On the molars, the labial walls are somewhat convex, there is a small ectostylid, at least on m1, a clear goat fold, and the third lobe of m3 is rather small. The premolars are moderately long (index Pm/M = 55-60), p3 and p4 are similar to each other, with a parastylid well distinct from the paraconid, an oblique metaconid cristid only slightly more transverse and inflated lingually on p4, and a broad labial groove between protoconid and hypoconid. The size range of the tooth rows is about the same as those of P. lindermayeri from Pikermi, but average smaller than those from Hadjidimovo. The horn core diameters ( Fig. 14 ) are also smaller than at Hadjidimovo and close to the ones from Pikermi and Kalimantsi ( Geraads et al. 2003).

Figures

FIG. 13. — Fossil mammals from the Miocene of Strumyani (SW Bulgaria): A-C, F, G, Palaeoreas lindermayeri Wagner, 1848; A, skull FM-2738, front view; B, mandible FM-2744; C, mandible FM-2783; F, frontlet FM-2740; G, frontlet FM-2780; D, I, J, Prostrepsiceros rotundicornis (Weithofer, 1888); D, mandible FM-2331; I, frontlet FM-2779; J, frontlet FM-2739; E, Palaeoryx sp., tooth row p2-m2 FM-2251; H, Tragoportax sp., skull FM-2094. Scale bar: A, G-J, 20 cm; B-E, 5 cm.

FIG. 14. — Plot of premolar vs molar length (in mm) in Palaeoreas lindermayeri Wagner, 1848 from Strumyani, Hadjidimovo and Pikermi.