Beavers (Castoridae, Rodentia) from the late Miocene (MN 9) locality Grytsiv in Ukraine

Pages	165-173
DOI	10.37520/fi.2020.010
Keywords	Chalicomys jaegeri, Euroxenomys minutus, teeth, morphology, Eastern Europe
Citation	REKOVETS, Leonid, STEFEN, Clara a DEMESHKANT, Vitalii. Beavers (Castoridae, Rodentia) from the late Miocene (MN 9) locality Grytsiv in Ukraine. Fossil Imprint / Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae, Series B – Historia Naturalis. Prague: National Museum, 2020, 76(1), 165-173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/fi.2020.010. ISSN 2533-4050 (tisk), 2533-4069 (online). Also available from: https://www.nm.cz/en/periodicals/fiamnpsbhn/76-1/beavers-castoridae-rodentia-from-the-late-miocene-mn-9-locality-grytsiv-in-ukraine

Fossil Imprint / Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae, Series B – Historia Naturalis | 2020/76/1

Here we report about the presence of fossils belonging to different beaver lineages from the late Miocene (MN 9, Vallesian) of Grytsiv (western Ukraine). Among them, nine isolated molars were assigned to Chalicomys jaegeri and described in detail here for the first time. Morphologically and metrically these specimens fit well into the range known for this species from other localities. The teeth are of different wear stages, mainly moderately or strongly worn. Two other teeth (a germ and one with a little wear), are tentatively identified as belonging to a smaller-sized beaver resembling Euroxenomys minutus. This is based mainly on their smaller size as measured at the occlusal surface. Taxonomic status and palaeoecology of Chalicomys jaegeri and other species of this genus are discussed in the paper.

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