Iberomeryx Gabunia

Mennecart, Bastien, Aiglstorfer, Manuela, Li, Yikun, Li, Chunxiao & Wang, ShiQi, 2021, Ruminants reveal Eocene Asiatic palaeobiogeographical provinces as the origin of diachronous mammalian Oligocene dispersals into Europe, Scientific Reports 1, pp. 1-12 : 7

Genus Iberomeryx Gabunia , 196443.

Diagnosis (modified from Mennecart et al. 36). Small-sized ruminant with upper molars possessing the following combination of characters: well-marked parastyle and mesostyle in small-column shape; strong paracone rib; metacone rib absent; metastyle absent; unaligned external walls of metacone and paracone; strong postprotocrista stopping against the anterior side of the premetaconulecrista; continuous lingual cingulum, stronger under the protocone. Lower dental formula is primitive (3–1–4–3) with non-molarized premolars. Tooth c is adjacent to i3. Tooth p1 is single-rooted, reduced and separated from c and p2 by a short diastema. Te premolars have a well-developed anterior conid. Teeth p2–p3 display a distally bifurcated mesolabial conid. Tooth p3 is the largest premolar. Tooth p4 displays no mesolingual conid and a large posterior valley. Regarding the lower molars, the trigonid and talonid are lingually open with a trigonid more tapered than the talonid. Te anterior fossa is open, due to a forward orientation of the preprotocristid and the presence of a paraconid. Te internal postprotocristid is oblique and the external postprotocristid reaches the prehypocristid. Te internal postprotocristid, postmetacristid and preentocristid are fused and Y-shaped. Protoconid and metaconid display a weak Tragulus fold and a well-developed Dorcatherium fold, respectively. Te mandible displays a regularly concave ventral profile in lateral view, a marked incisura vasorum, a strong mandibular angular process, a vertical ramus, and a stout condylar process.

Type species. Iberomeryx parvus Gabunia, 196443 from Benara (Georgia), late Oligocene 44.

Included species. I. minor 45, Iberomeryx miaoi nov. sp.