Orycteropus undetermined

Lehmann, Thomas, 2009, Phylogeny and systematics of the Orycteropodidae (Mammalia, Tubulidentata), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 155 (3), pp. 649-702 : 688

SPECIES ORYCTEROPUS SP. LAINYAMOK

Material: A right coxal bone ( KNM WM 16318) and a subcomplete left tibia ( KNM WM 16319) reported in the faunal list as O. afer , but never described ( Shipman, Potts & Pickford, 1983; Potts, Shipman & Ingall, 1988; Potts & Deino, 1995). These specimens are housed at the NMK, Nairobi.

Locality and age: Lainyamok ( Kenya). The horizon Khaki 2 where the specimens were found is dated from the Late Pleistocene, and more precisely from between 392 and 330 Kya ( Potts & Deino, 1995).

Discussion: The coxal bone shows dimensions comparable with those of O. afer , and that are larger than those in O. djourabensis . No coxal bone is known for O. crassidens so far. The tibia presents the deep dorsal notch between the tibial tuberosity and the fibula on the proximal epiphysis of the tibio-fibula, as well as a large and developed tibial tuberosity, typical of O. afer and O. crassidens , but different from O. djourabensis and the Amphiorycteropus . Moreover, the dimensions of this tibia match those of the larger specimens of O. afer . No tibia is known for O. crassidens at this time. Therefore, the aardvarks from Lainyamok clearly belong to the genus Orycteropus , and can even be distinguished from O. djourabensis . Nonetheless, as no comparable elements exist for O. crassidens , it is not yet possible to assign them to a species. Noticeably, Potts & Deino (1995) counted 32 aardvark specimens (the maximum number of individuals). However, only two specimens have been found at the present time in the collections of the NMK, Nairobi. The analysis of the remaining material might allow a more precise identification.