Bunolistriodon khinzikebirus, (WILKINSON, 1976)

Pickford, Martin, Abdel Gawad, Mohamed, Hamdan, Mohamed, El-Barkooky, Ahmed N. & Al Riaydh, Mohammed H., 2021, New Suoid Fossils (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) From The Miocene Of Moghara, Egypt, And Gebel Zelten, Libya: Biochronological Implications, Fossil Imprint 77 (1), pp. 111-125 : 117-120

Kubwachoerus khinzikebirus ( WILKINSON, 1976)

H o l o t y p e. BU 6416-82 a–e, right p/2–p/4, fragment of m/2, complete m/3 (cast in NHMUK M 32995).

P a r a t y p e. BU 6242-92, cast of right maxilla containing

P1/–M3/ (original fossil is curated at Bristol University).

D i a g n o s i s. Very large kubanochoere about 10 to 20 % larger than Kubanochoerus robustus ; M1/–M3/ ca. 135 mm long, m/1–m/3 ca. 142 mm long (from Pickford and Tsujikawa 2019). Smaller than Kubwachoerus nyakachensis PICKFORD et TSUJIKAWA, 2019, and larger than Kubwachoerus marymuunguae (VAN DER MADE, 1996).

T y p e l o c a l i t y a n d a g e. Gebel Zelten, Libya, basal middle Miocene, ca. 16 Ma.

D i s t r i b u t i o n. Libya (Gebel Zelten), Kenya (Maboko, Majiwa, Kipsaraman, Cheparawa), Turkey (Inönü), possibly Saudi Arabia (As Sarrar, Tayma), possibly Uganda (Napak XXXII).

D e s c r i p t i o n. The mandible from Gebel Zelten (ATH 6C 1) is important even though it retains no tooth crowns, because it is undistorted and preserves both bodies and the symphysis, lacking only the dentition and the upper parts of the ascending rami ( Text-figs 14–15 ).

The symphysis is relatively narrow, not splayed out as in Listriodontinae , and the lower canine alveoli show a verrucosic section. The canines are steeply inserted in the jaw with only slight lateral splay. The incisor alveoli are close together and the i/3 is close to the canine. There is a short diastema between the lower canine and the p/1, and a second one between the p/1 and p/2, the rest of the cheek teeth being in contact with one another. The root of the ascending ramus sweeps upwards at the rear of the m/3. The body of the mandible is shallow, unlike the uniformly deeper jaws that occur in Listriodontinae ( Pickford and Tsujikawa 2019) . The masseteric fossa is vast, its antero-posterior length almost equalling the distance between the p/2 and the m/3. The angle of the jaw is slightly behind the level of the rear of m/3 and the ventral margin descends gently distally before curving upwards and backwards and then upwards and forwards towards the condyles which are missing in this specimen.

There are two moderately large mental foramina beneath the front of the p/2 at about half the height of the ramus, and there are small foramina beneath the p/3 and the p/4. The rear of the symphysis is beneath the middle of the p/3. In ventral view, the symphysis shows two prominent foramina beneath the alveoli of i/2, and smaller ones beneath the alveoli of i/3.

Measurements of the teeth have been estimated from the roots or the alveoli ( Tab. 4). Pickford (2006) provided measurements of the lower canine and the m/2 which were taken by D. Soria.

The snout (WUSC 4C 33) has already been described by Pickford (2006). It is re-illustrated herein ( Text-fig. 16 ), because the previous images were obtained from a video which resulted in rather low resolution figures. The small dimensions of the upper canine alveoli indicate that this individual was probably a female.

Figures

Text-fig. 14. ACH 6C 1, mandible of Kubwachoerus khinzikebirus from Gebel Zelten, Libya. a: oblique anterior view to show alveolus of right lower canine; b: oblique ventral view of symphysis; c: anterior view to show incisor and canine alveoli.

Text-fig. 16. WUSC 4C 33, snout of Kubwachoerus khinzikebirus from Gebel Zelten, Libya. a: palatal view; b: anterior view; c: left lateral view.