Researchers discover fossil of new species of pangolin in Europe

Date:
January 10, 2022
Source:
University of Arkansas
Summary:
Deeper analysis of fossils from one of Eastern Europe's most
significant paleontological sites has led to the discovery of a
new species of pangolin, previously thought to have existed in
Europe during the early Pleistocene but not confirmed until now.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Deeper analysis of fossils from one of Eastern Europe's most significant paleontological sites has led to the discovery of a new species of
pangolin, previously thought to have existed in Europe during the early Pleistocene but not confirmed until now.


========================================================================== "It's not a fancy fossil," said Claire Terhune, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas. "It's just a single bone,
but it is a new species of a kind of a weird animal. We're proud of it
because the fossil record for pangolins is extremely sparse. This one
happens to be the youngest pangolin ever discovered from Europe and the
only pangolin fossil from Pleistocene Europe." The bone, a humerus --
or upper arm bone -- came from Grăunceanu, a rich fossil deposit
in the Olteţ River Valley of Romania. For nearly a decade, Terhune
and an international team of researchers have focused their attention on Grăunceanu and other sites of the Olteţ. These sites, initially discovered because of landslides during the 1960s, have produced fossils
from a wide variety of animal species, including a large terrestrial
monkey, short- necked giraffe, rhinos and saber-toothed cats, in addition
to the new pangolin species.

"What's especially exciting is that although some work in the 1930s
suggested the presence of pangolins in Europe during the Pleistocene,
those fossils had been lost, and other researchers doubted their
validity," Terhune said. "Now we know for sure that pangolins were present
in Europe around at least 2 million years ago." Modern-day pangolins
exist in Asia and Africa. Often referred to as scaly anteaters, they look somewhat like the armadillos that roam the southern United States. With
scales from head to tail, they are sometimes mistaken as reptiles, but
modern pangolins are actually mammals and are most closely related to carnivores. They are also among the most illegally trafficked animals
in the world. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the eight species of
living pangolins on two continents range from "vulnerable" to "critically endangered." The new pangolin fossil is between about 1.9 to 2.2 million
years old, placing it within the range of the Pleistocene Epoch, which
ran from roughly 2.6 million years ago to about 11,700 years ago. The identification of this fossil as a pangolin is significant because
previous research suggested that pangolins disappeared from the European paleontological record during the middle-Miocene, closer to 10 million
years ago. Previous work hypothesized that pangolins were pushed toward
more tropical and sub-tropical equatorial environments due to global
cooling trends.

As the youngest and best documented fossil pangolin from Europe and
the only fossil from Pleistocene Europe, the new species revises an
earlier understanding of pangolin evolution and bio-geography. Smutsia olteniensis, as the new species is called, shares several unique traits
with other living members of the genus Smutsia, which are currently
found only in Africa.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Arkansas. Original
written by Matt McGowan.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Fossil_pangolin_bones ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Claire E. Terhune, Timothy Gaudin, Sabrina Curran, Alexandru
Petculescu.

The youngest pangolin (Mammalia, Pholidota) from Europe. Journal
of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2021; DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2021.1990075 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220110184834.htm
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