Crusafontina cf. kormosi ( Bachmayer and Wilson, 1970 )

Rzebik-Kowalska, Barbara & Rekovets, Leonid I., 2016, New data on Eulipotyphla (Insectivora, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene of Ukraine, Palaeontologia Electronica 12 (1), pp. 1-31 : 14-16

Crusafontina cf. kormosi ( Bachmayer and Wilson, 1970)

Figure 8.1-8.5

Material. Verkhnya Krynitsa 2 ( MN 11/ MN 12), left fragment of mandible with i1 – p4, left fragment of mandible with m2-m3 and coronoid and condyloid processes, left fragment of mandible with m1-m2 without processes, right fragment (talonid) of m2 and right fragment of mandible without teeth and processes. MNI = 2. Catalogue number 29/2/8.

Description. All teeth are massive. The i1 ( Figure 8.1 ) is slightly damaged in its cutting edge and its number of cusps (two or three) is unknown. Its apex is bent upward and a buccal cingulid is lacking. The a1 and the p4 ( Figure 8.1 ) are unicuspid. The postero-lingual basin of a1 is almost absent that of p4 is small and very shallow. The buccal and lingual cingulids of both teeth are wide, and they do not reach their anterior apexes. The m1 ( Figure 8.2 ) has bulbous cusps and an elongated trigonid. Its re-entrant valley is shallow, its entoconid and entostylid are separated by a groove, the anterior, buccal and posterior cingulids are not very wide, and the lingual cingulid is absent. The buccal cingulid is very wavy. The m2 ( Figures 8.2, 8.4-5 ) is similar but smaller. The m3 ( Figure 8.3 ) is very small and its talonid is reduced. It is surrounded by a continuous crest.

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The horizontal ramus of the mandible is slightly concave under the m1/m2 junction. The coronoid process is large. Its coronoid spicule is distinct and situated high. The external temporal fossa is deep but not very long. It extends to the level of the upper sigmoid notch. The internal temporal fossa is high and divided by a horizontal bar separating the deep lower part from the shallow higher part of the fossa. The condyloid process is high, its interarticular area is narrow and the lower facet elongated and concave. The mental foramen is situated below the anterior root of m1, slightly forward in relation to its protoconid. One mandibular foramen is situated below the anterior part of the internal temporal fossa ( Figure 8.3 ).

Measurements. See Table 6.

Systematic Position and Distribution. The teeth are not very bulbous, the presence of the m3 and serration of the i1 indicate that these Anourosoricini specimens belong to the genus Crusafontina Gibert, 1974 ( Mészáros, 1998; van Dam, 2004). Recently, six valid species have been included in this genus (see Rzebik-Kowalska and Lungu, 2009; Rzebik-Kowalska and Nesin, 2010). They lived in Europe in the Middle and Late Miocene. The size of remains from Verkhnya Krynitsa 2 lie in the range of variation of the size of two European species, C. endemica Gibert, 1974 and especially C. kormosi ( Bachmayer and Wilson, 1970) .

Crusafontina fastigata van Dam, 2004 known from Spain, and probably similar in size, cannot be directly compared with Ukrainian specimens because it was described on the basis of the upper teeth. C. endemica and C. kormosi are very similar in morphology, the latter differs only by a slightly more posterior position of the mental foramen situated between the roots of m1 (in C. endemica it is situated below the trigonid of m1), a slightly deeper re-entrant valley in m1 and a different ratio of the length of m2/m1 and m3/m1 ( van Dam, 2004; Ziegler, 2006). In C. kormosi the m2 and m3 are more reduced than in C. endemica and its m2/m1 ratio is below 0.70 (about 0. 80 in C. endemica ) and its m3/m1 ratio is below 0.40 (it exceeds this value in C. endemica ). In the studied specimens the m2/m1 ratio is 0.68 and m3/m1 ratio is?0.38 (m1 and m3 are isolated and may belong to two different specimens). These ratios as well as the rather deep re-entrant valley in the lower m1 and m2 indicate that the mandibles described here belong to C. kormosi . However, the mental foramen present in one of the specimens is situated below the anterior root of m1 as in C. endemica . Having in mind the reduction of teeth, larger size and possibly the age of specimens (MN11/MN12), they have been tentatively ascribed to C. cf. kormosi . Its youngest (MN13) remains are known from Polgárdi 4 ( Hungary; Mészáros, 1998) while C. endemica has not been recorded later than MN11.

The species is already known from older Ukrainian localities, Mikhailovka 1 (MN10) and Frunzovka 2 (MN11) ( Rzebik-Kowalska and Nesin, 2010).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Crusafontina cf. kormosi from Verkhnya Krynitsa 2. 1, fragment of left mandible with i1–p4 in buccal view (c.n. 29/2/8/1); 2, fragment of left mandible with m1–m2 in occlusal view (c.n. 29/2/8/2); 3, fragment of left mandible with m2–m3 and coronoid and condyloid proceses in lingual view (c.n. 29/2/8/3). (4-5), Fragment (talonid) of right m2 in: 4, occlusal; and 5, lingual view (c.n. 29/2/8/5).