Praepusa Kretzoi, 1941

Koretsky, I. A., Peters, N. & Rahmat, S., 2015, New Species Of Praepusa (Carnivora, Phocidae, Phocinae) From The Netherlands Supports East To West Neogene Dispersal Of True Seals, Vestnik Zoologii 49 (1), pp. 57-66 : 58-60

Genus Praepusa Kretzoi, 1941

Phoca Blainville, 1840: 41–42 , pl.10, fig. 1 ; Brühl,1860: 1–16, fig. 2 ; Peters, 1867: 110–111; Toula, 1897: 55–70, pl. 2, fig. 9–11; Trouessart, 1897: 385, 1904: 286; Kellogg, 1922: 119–120; Alekseev, 1924: 32; Bogachev, 1927: 141–143, 145; Kretzoi, 1941: 350–356, fig. 1 ; Friant, 1947: 7, 12, 16, 45, 47, table 2, fig. 1a–c ; King, 1964: 131; Thenius, 1969: 319; McLaren, 1960: 51–52, 56, 58; Hendey, Repenning, 1972: 85; Ray, 1977: 395, 398; Grigorescu, 1977: 407, 412, 417; Nicolas, 1978: 456; Muizon, 1982:190, 205.

“ Phoca ” — McLaren, 1975: 44; Mitchell, 1975:23.

Praepusa Kretzoi, 1941: 351–356 , fig. 1 ; McLaren, 1960: 55–56, 59; Thenius, 1969: 404; Grigorescu, 1977: 407, 412, 417; Antoniuk, Koretsky, 1984: 27–29, fig. 1–3 ; Koretsky, 1987 b: 3–6, fig.1 ; 2001: 46–55, fig. 18–30; 2003: 63–70, fig. 1–4 ; Koretsky, Ray, 1994: 20; McKenna, Bell, 1997: 257.

Leptophoca ? — Ray, 1977: 395, 398; Savage, Russell, 1983: 292; Muizon, 1992: 35.

T y p e s p e c i e s. Praepusa pannonica Kretzoi, 1941:351–356 , fig. 1.

I n c l u d e d s p e c i e s. Praepusa pannonica Kretzoi, 1941 , from the early-middle Sarmatian (Middle Miocene) of Hungary and from the middle Sarmatian of Moldova; Praepusa vindobonensis Toula, 1897 from the early Sarmatian of Austria (Nussdorf) and from the middle Sarmatian of the Ukraine and Moldova; Pr. magyaricus Koretsky, 2003 , Sarmatian age of the Vienna Basin. Praepusa boeska sp.n., from the Late Miocene — Late Pliocene (Tortonian–Piacenzian Stages, 11.5–3.5 Ma) sandpit de Kuilen, Mill-Langenboom, Noord- Brabant, S. E. Netherlands; and Pliocene and Miocene? of the Antwerp Basin, Belgium.

E m e n d e d a n d e x p a n d e d d i a g n o s i s. Cranial diagnosis the same as for Praepusa vindobonensis ; mandibular diagnosis the same as for Pr. pannonica .

Deltoid crest of humerus has shape of sharp blade; lesser tubercle elongated along axis of bone; head width to height ratio greater than 0.964; lateral epicondyle reaches distal part of deltoid crest.

Greater trochanter of femur considerably higher than head; its proximal and distal parts approximately of equal width; trochanteric fossa wide and medially open, but deep; head slightly deflected distally and seated on narrow, long neck; minimal width of diaphysis in middle part of bone; maximal intercondylar distance 12.0–15.8 % of femoral length.

Sacrum consists of three fused short vertebrae with smaller alas, and narrower bases than in Phocanella ; cranial articular processes (processus articularis cranialis) shorter, flattened with square bases; foramina smaller, wider and shorter, base not round, but rectangular shape; lateral sacral crests oblong in shape, more elongated and reaching above second dorsal foraminae, in contrast to Phocanella pumilla where crests reach only lower (distal) part of foramina.

D i s c u s s i o n. Extensive investigations of seal fossils from several Middle — Late Miocene deposits of Western Europe allow a more accurate diagnosis of the genus Prae-

Рис. 1. Песчаный подводный карьер «Де-Кёйлен», муниципалитет Милл-Лангенбом, провинция Северный Брабант, Голландия (поздний миоцен).

pusa due to similar humeral characters in: 1) Praepusa vindobonensis Toula, 1897 : from Austria, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Moldova (Middle Miocene); 2) Pr. pannonica Kretzoi, 1941 : from the early-middle Sarmatian (Middle Miocene) of Hungary and Moldova; and 3) Pr. magyaricus Koretsky, 2003 : from the Middle Miocene of the Vienna Basin.

G e o l o g i c a l a g e a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n. Middle Miocene of the southern part of Eastern and Central Europe; Late Miocene to Late Pliocene (Tortonian–Piacenzian Stages, 11.5–3.5 Ma) of the Eastern shore of the North Atlantic, The Netherlands and Belgium.

Figures

Fig. 1. Sandpit de Kuilen, location of Mill-Langenboom, in the eastern Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands(Late Miocene).

Fig. 2. Humeri of Praepusa boeska sp. n., MAB 4686 holotype, right humerus, female, Miocene? the Antwerp Basin, Belgium: A —cranial view; B — lateral view; C — medial view; and MAB 4687, left humerus, male, Late Miocene — Early Pliocene (Tortonian–Piacenzian Stages, 11.5–3.5 Ma), sandpit de Kuilen (municipality of Mill-Langenboom), Noord-Brabant, S. E. Netherlands; D — cranial view; E — lateral view; F — caudal view.