A Palaeocene proboscidean from Morocco (original) (raw)
- Letter
- Published: 05 September 1996
Nature volume 383, pages 68–70 (1996)Cite this article
- 550 Accesses
- 88 Citations
- 11 Altmetric
- Metrics details
Abstract
UNTIL recently, the oldest known Arabo-African fossils of the elephant order (Proboscidea) were scarce _Moeritherium_-like remains from the Middle Eocene epoch of Mali1 and Senegal2. In 1984 the discovery in Algeria of _Numidotherium koholense_3 pushed back the record to the late Early Eocene. Here we report the discovery of a new genus in the late Palaeocene (Thanetian) epoch of Morocco (Ouled Abdoun Basin), about 7 million years older than Numidotherium. The new specimen is not only the oldest and smallest known proboscidean, but also the first modern ungulate from pre-Eocene strata. Though indirect data support an early eutherian radiation, close to the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, this is also among the very few known occurrences of modern placental orders before the Eocene. Unexpectedly, it belongs to what is, according to current phylogenetic studies4,5, one of the most derived eutherian orders, providing new evidence for a very early radiation of modern orders of placentals.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Similar content being viewed by others
References
- Arambourg, C., Kikoine, J. & Lavocat, R. C. R. Acad. Sci. 233, 68–70 (1951).
Google Scholar - Gorodiski, A. & Lavocat, R. C. R. Somm. Séanc. Soc. Géol. Fr. 15, 314–316 (1953).
Google Scholar - Mahboubi, M., Ameur, R., Crochet, J.-Y. & Jaeger, J.-J. Palaeontographica 192, 15–49 (1986).
Google Scholar - Novacek, M. J., Wiss, A. R. & McKenna, M. C. in The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods Vol. 2 (ed. Benton, M. J.), 31–71 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1988).
Google Scholar - Novacek, M. J. Nature 356, 121–125 (1992).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Shoshani, J. & Tassy, P. in Elephants (ed. Shoshani, J.) 22–23 (Weldon Owen Pty Ltd, Sidney, 1992).
Google Scholar - Arambourg, C. Serv. Géol. Maroc. Notes Mém. 92, 1–372 (1952).
Google Scholar - Cappetta, H. Géobios 14, 563–575 (1981).
Article Google Scholar - Cappetta, H. Mém. Soc. Géol. Fr. 150, 113–131 (1987).
Google Scholar - Noubhani, A. thesis, Univ. Montpellier II (1993).
- Noubhani, A. & Cappetta, H. Palaeo Ichthyol. (in the press).
- Tassy, P. Ann. Paléontol. 76, 159–224 (1990).
Google Scholar - Gingerich, P. D., Smith, B. H. & Rosenberg, K. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 58, 81–100 (1982).
Article CAS Google Scholar - Damuth, J. in Body Size in Mammalian Paleobiology: Estimation and Biological Implication (eds Damuth, J. & Macfadden, B. J.), 229–253 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1990).
Google Scholar - Tassy, P. & Shoshani, J. in The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods Vol. 2 (ed. Benton, M. J.) 283–315 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1988).
Google Scholar - Fisher, M. & Tassy, P. in Mammal Phylogeny Vol. II (eds Szalay, F. S., Novacek, M. J. & McKenna, M. C.) 217–234 (Springer, New York, 1993).
Book Google Scholar - Tassy, P. Géobios 6, 225–245 (1982).
Article Google Scholar - Tassy, P. Verh. Naturwiss. Ver. Hamburg 34, 73–94 (1994).
Google Scholar - Domning, D. P., Ray, C. E. & McKenna, M. C. Smithsonian Contrib. Paleobiol. 59, 1–56 (1986).
Google Scholar - Thewissen, J. M. G. & Domning, D. P. J. Vert. Pal. 12, 494–504 (1992).
Article Google Scholar - Wells, N. A. & Gingerich, P. D. Contrib. Mus. Pal. Univ. Mich. 26, 177–139 (1983).
Google Scholar - Court, N. J. Vert. Pal. 15, 650–671 (1995).
Article Google Scholar - Gingerich, P. D. Nature 319, 319–321 (1986).
Article ADS Google Scholar - Gingerich, P. D. Univ. Mich. Pap. Paleontol. 28, 1–97 (1989).
Google Scholar - Cappetta, H. et al. Géobios 11, 257–263 (1978).
Article Google Scholar - Gheerbrant, E. Hist. Biol. 4, 107–116 (1990).
Article Google Scholar - Gheerbrant, E. Palaeontographica A 224, 67–132 (1992).
Google Scholar - Gheerbrant, E. Palaeontographica A 231, 133–188 (1994).
Google Scholar - Gheerbrant, E. Palaeontographica 237, 39–132 (1995).
Google Scholar - Sigé, B., Jaeger, J.-J., Sudre, J. & Vianey-Liaud, M. Palaeontographica A 214, 31–56 (1990).
Google Scholar
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie des Vertébrés (Case 106), CNRS-URA 1761, Université Paris 6, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75252, Paris, Cedex 05, France
Emmanuel Gheerbrant - Institut des Sciences de I'Evolution (Case 64), E.P.H.E. and CNRS-UMR 5554, Université Montpellier II, Place E. Bataillon, F-34095, Montpellier, Cedex 05, France
Jean Sudre & Henri Cappetta
Authors
- Emmanuel Gheerbrant
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar - Jean Sudre
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar - Henri Cappetta
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gheerbrant, E., Sudre, J. & Cappetta, H. A Palaeocene proboscidean from Morocco.Nature 383, 68–70 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/383068a0
- Received: 27 December 1995
- Accepted: 08 July 1996
- Issue Date: 05 September 1996
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/383068a0