A reassessment of the Oligocene hyracoid mammals from Malembo, Cabinda, Angola - 15/05/21

Doi : 10.1016/j.geobios.2021.03.003

Rodolphe Tabuce ^a,^⁎ , Fabrice Lihoreau ^a, Florias Mees ^b, Maeva J. Orliac ^a, Thierry De Putter ^b, Thierry Smith ^c
^a Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution (UM, CNRS, IRD, EPHE), Université Montpellier, Place E. Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
^b Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), Department of Geology, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium
^c Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Operational Directorate Earth and History of Life, Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

^⁎Corresponding author.

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Abstract

The Oligocene Malembo locality, Cabinda exclave, Angola, has yielded a rich vertebrate fauna represented by fragmentary remains. This fossiliferous locality is the only definite occurrence of Oligocene terrestrial mammals in sub-Saharan West Africa. The hyracoids from Malembo have only been very succinctly described and compared thus far, so that their systematic attribution is not consensual among specialists. A revision now allows the identification of three (or four) medium to large-sized species represented by Geniohyus dartevellei, Pachyhyrax cf. crassidentatus, and two undetermined taxa. The species G. dartevellei is revived for the holotype of Palaeochoerus dartevellei Hooijer, 1963; this species is unique to Malembo but appears close to Geniohyus mirus, a species only known from the early Oligocene of the Fayum, Egypt. Other species of Geniohyus and Pachyhyrax crassidentatus are also only known from the early Oligocene of the Fayum. The presence of Geniohyus and Pachyhyrax cf. crassidentatus at Malembo thus supports an early Oligocene age for the fauna.