New remains of the enigmatic cetartiodactyl Bugtitherium grandincisivum Pilgrim, 1908, from the upper Oligocene of the Bugti Hills (Balochistan, Pakistan).
Newly discovered fossil material of the enigmatic cetartiodactyl Bugtitherium grandincisivum from the upper Oligocene of the Bugti Member of the Chitarwata Formation in the Bugti Hills (Balochistan, Pakistan) is reported. These new specimens consist of two fragmentary muzzles (one preserving the first incisors and belonging to a juvenile) and a fragmentary right mandible with m3. The morphologies of the anterior dentition and m3 provided by these new specimens confirm the validity of the genus Bugtitherium and advocate probable anthracotheriid affinity for the genus rather than entelodontid or suoid affinities, but do not definitively close the debate about Bugtitherium's familial affinities within Cetartiodactyla. Although still poorly documented, this large-sized anthracotheriid-like cetartiodactyl is a possible key form for understanding the early evolution of hippos, and, in turn, the ancestry of whales, because of both its morphological similarities with hippos and primitive Paleogene whales and its Tethysian distribution.
Métais
Grégoire
G
Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4080, USA. metaisg@carnegiemnh.org
Antoine
Pierre-Olivier
PO
Baqri
Syed Rafiqul Hassan
SR
Benammi
Mouloud
M
Crochet
Jean-Yves
JY
de Franceschi
Dario
D
Marivaux
Laurent
L
Welcomme
Jean-Loup
JL