New Hyaenodonts (Ferae, Mammalia) From The Early Miocene Of Napak (Uganda), Koru (Kenya) And Grillental (Namibia)
Author
Morales, Jorge
Author
Pickford, Martin
text
Fossil Imprint
2017
2017-12-31
73
3 - 4
332
359
http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/if-2017-0019
journal article
10.2478/if-2017-0019
2533-4069
5385228
Buhakia hyaenoides
(
MORALES
et al., 2003)
Text-fig. 2
2003
Africanictis hyaenoides
; Morales et al., p. 183.
H o l o t y p e. Left m2 (GSN AD 241’99) (
Text-fig. 2
).
Text-fig. 2.
Buhakia hyaenoides
(
MORALES
et al., 2003)
from Arrisdrift, Sperrgebiet (Namibia). GSN AD 241’99 (holotype), left m2. a: lingual view, b: buccal view, c: occlusal view (stereo pairs).
T y p e l o c a l i t y. Arrisdrift,
Namibia
.
A g e. Basal Middle Miocene.
D i s c u s s i o n.
Morales et al.(2003)
defined
Africanictis hyaenoides
at the locality of Arrisdrift (
Namibia
) on the basis of a suspected m1 with specialised features (loss of the metaconid, narrow, cutting trigonid and reduced talonid, although it possesses a hypoconid and entoconid) thereby differing from the
type
species of the genus,
Africanictis meini
(
Morales et al. 1998b
)
. Among the carnivores described by
Morlo et al. (2007)
from Wadi Moghra,
Egypt
, there was a new creodont,
Buhakia moghraensis
, based on a subadult mandible of which the dentition was interpreted to be dp4, m1 and m2. In particular, the last molar in this specimen is morphologically quite close to the Arrisdrift species, which is only slightly larger (
Text-fig. 3
). The Arrisdrift molar is unworn, and has open roots, indicting its subadult status, similar in age to the individual of
B. moghraensis
. The Arrisdrift molar has a basal cingulum on the buccal side of the paraconid which sweeps upwards along the anterior margin and swells such that occlusion with the talonid of the preceding molar (m1) is via this cingulum and the anteriormost extremity of the paraconid, a conformation visible in
Buhakia moghraensis
and frequent in hyaenodonts in which the molars are imbricated. Other characters common to the two species are the loss of the metaconid and the presence of cutting talonid and hypoconid.