Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
J Anat. 2020 Aug;237(2):250-262. doi: 10.1111/joa.13190. Epub 2020 Apr 7.
This work describes an unparalleled sample of isolated fossil auditory ossicles of cainotheriid artiodactyls from the Paleogene karstic infillings of Dams (Tarn-et-Garonne, Quercy, France). This collection comprises a total of 18 mallei, 28 incudes and three stapedes. It allows the documentation of both intra- and interspecific variability of ossicular morphology within Cainotheriidae. We show that despite considerable intraspecific variability, the malleus, the incus and the stapes appear to be taxonomically informative at the Cainotheriidae scale. This work further provides the first description of a reconstructed ossicular chain of a terrestrial Paleogene artiodactyl species, found in a basicranium of the late Oligocene cainotheriine Caenomeryx filholi (Pech Desse locality).
这项工作描述了一个无与伦比的样本，即古近纪喀斯特填充物中来自法国塔恩-加龙省 (Tarn-et-Garonne, Quercy) 的 Cainotheriidae 偶蹄目动物的孤立化石听小骨。该集合共包含 18 个锤骨、28 个砧骨和 3 个镫骨。它记录了 Cainotheriidae 内听小骨形态的种内和种间变异性。我们表明，尽管存在相当大的种内变异性，但锤骨、砧骨和镫骨在 Cainotheriidae 尺度上似乎具有分类学意义。这项工作进一步提供了首例重建的陆生古近纪偶蹄目动物听小骨链的描述，该动物发现于晚渐新世 Cainotheriine Caenomeryx filholi（Pech Desse 地点）的颅底中。
