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Promephitis lartetii Gaudry, 1861 (Carnivora: Mephitidae) from the Late Miocene of Tuva (Taralyk-Cher Locality)

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Abstract

This paper describes fossil remains of Promephitis lartetii (Mephitidae) from the Upper Miocene (MN 12–13) of Tuva, the Taralyk-Cher locality, which are represented by two nearly complete deformed skulls, mandibular rami, and maxilla, mandible fragments, and isolated teeth. The variability of taxonomically significant characters in the morphology of P4–M1 and the skull of P. lartetii has been studied. The stability of the taxonomic characters of the genus Promephitis has been analyzed.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are deeply grateful to D.O. Gimranov (Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences) and M.V. Sotnikova (Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences) for providing advice and fruitful discussions, as well as to G.D. Koufos (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) for providing the photographs of the material on P. lartetii, R.A. Rakitov (Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences) for assistance in conducting CT analysis and S.V. Bagirov (Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences) for high-quality photography of the materials, S.V. Kruskop and V.S. Lebedev (Zoological Museum of Moscow State University) for assistance in working with the comparative material on Mephitidae; Academician A.V. Lopatin (Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences) for valuable comments and advice.

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This work was supported by the Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences. No additional grants were received to conduct or direct this specific study.

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  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    I. F. Araslanov & A. V. Lavrov

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  1. I. F. Araslanov
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Araslanov, I.F., Lavrov, A.V. Promephitis lartetii Gaudry, 1861 (Carnivora: Mephitidae) from the Late Miocene of Tuva (Taralyk-Cher Locality). Paleontol. J. 58, 232–244 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123600221

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