Palaeomephitis steinheimensis is an extinct species of musteloid, possibly a mephitid (skunk), from the Miocene epoch of Europe.
Description
Palaeomephitis steinheimensis was described by Jäger in 1839 from a well-preserved cranium found in Steinheim am Albuch in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. Subsequently, different authors considered it to represent a viverrid or a leptarctine mustelid. It was placed in the Mephitinae (now considered to be a distinct family) by Wolsan in 1999, on the evidence of its having an extended epitympanic recess to the middle ear.[1] However, Geraads and Spassov (2016) were uncertain it in fact had this expanded recess, since that area of the skull is imperfectly preserved. Due to this and other factors, such as it differing from Mephitidae in some characters, these authors considered the mephitid affinities of Palaeomephitis doubtful.[2]
Taxonomy
| Skunks |
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In its traditional skunk classification, Palaeomephitis is considered to stand close to the two extant species of stink badger (Mydaus) and the several extinct species of Promephitis. This clade is considered to be a sister group to all other skunks living today and other fossil forms.[3]
References
- ^ Mieczysław Wolsan (1999). "Oldest mephitine cranium and its implications for the origin of skunks" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 44 (2): 223–230.
- ^ Geraads, Denis; Spassov, Nikolaï (30 December 2016). "Musteloid carnivores from the upper Miocene of South-Western Bulgaria, and the phylogeny of the Mephitidae". Geodiversitas. 38 (4): 543–558. doi:10.5252/g2016n4a5. ISSN 1280-9659.
- ^ Mikko Haaramo (7 October 2007). "Mustelidae: Mephitinae". Mikko’s Phylogeny Archive. Archived from the original on 2017-01-14. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
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