title: A Transitional Gundi (Rodentia: Ctenodactylidae) from the Miocene of Israel.
abstract: We describe a new species of gundi (Rodentia: Ctenodactylidae: Ctenodactylinae), Sayimys negevensis, on the basis of cheek teeth from the Early Miocene of the Rotem Basin, southern Israel. The Rotem ctenodactylid differs from all known ctenodactylid species, including Sayimys intermedius, which was first described from the Middle Miocene of Saudi Arabia. Instead, it most resembles Sayimys baskini from the Early Miocene of Pakistan in characters of the m1-2 (e.g., the mesoflexid shorter than the metaflexid, the obliquely orientated hypolophid, and the presence of a strong posterolabial ledge) and the upper molars (e.g., the paraflexus that is longer than the metaflexus). However, morphological (e.g., presence of a well-developed paraflexus on unworn upper molars) and dimensional (regarding, in particular, the DP4 and M1 or M2) differences between the Rotem gundi and Sayimys baskini distinguish them and testify to the novelty and endemicity of the former. In its dental morphology, Sayimys negevensis sp. nov. shows a combination of both the ultimate apparition of key-characters and incipient features that would be maintained and strengthened in latter ctenodactylines. Thus, it is a pivotal species that bridges the gap between an array of primitive ctenodactylines and the most derived, Early Miocene and later, gundis.
authors.affiliation: School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.|Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: López-Antoñanzas
authors.affiliation: The Harvey M. Krueger Family Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Vitaly
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gutkin
authors.affiliation: National Natural History Collections, Institute of Earth Sciences and Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Rivka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rabinovich
authors.affiliation: Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.affiliation: Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, United States of America.|School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America.
authors.forename: Aryeh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grossman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005580:Fossils; D007557:Israel; D008963:Molar / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010154:Pakistan; D010802:Phylogeny; D012377:Rodentia / Q000145:classification*; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*