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New Rodents (Cricetidae) from the Neogene of Curacßao and Bonaire, Dutch Antilles

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New Rodents (Cricetidae) from the Neogene of Curacßao and Bonaire, Dutch Antilles [Palaeontology, 2013, pp. 1–14] NEW RODENTS (CRICETIDAE) FROM THE NEOGENE OF CURACßAO AND BONAIRE, DUTCH ANTILLES 1,2 3 by JELLE S. ZIJLSTRA *, DONALD A. MCFARLANE , LARS W. VAN DEN HOEK OSTENDE2 and JOYCE LUNDBERG4 1914 Rich Avenue #3, Mountain View, CA 94040, USA; e-mail: [email protected] 2Department of Geology, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, PO Box 9517, Leiden, RA 2300, the Netherlands; e-mail: [email protected] 3W. M. Keck Center, The Claremont Colleges, 925 North Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711-5916, USA; e-mail: [email protected] 4Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON KIS 5B6, Canada; e-mail: [email protected] *Corresponding author Typescript received 4 June 2012; accepted in revised form 11 November 2013 Abstract: Cordimus, a new genus of cricetid rodent, is described from Bonaire on the basis of Holocene owl pellet described from Neogene deposits on the islands of Curacßao material that consists of dentaries and postcranial material and Bonaire, Dutch Antilles. The genus is characterized by only. This species is presumed to be extinct, but focused sur- strongly cuspidate molars, the presence of mesolophs in most veys are needed to confirm this hypothesis. Cordimus debu- upper molars and the absence of mesolophids in lower molars. isonjei sp. nov. and Cordimus raton sp. nov. are described from Similarities with the early cricetid Copemys from the Miocene deposits on Tafelberg Santa Barbara in Curacßao. Although the of North America coupled with apparent derived characters age of these deposits is not known, they are most likely of late shared with the subfamily Sigmodontinae suggest that Cordi- Pliocene or early Pleistocene age. Both are represented by mus may be close to the root of the sigmodontine lineage, a numerous isolated molars and some osteological material. possibility that remains to be tested through explicit phyloge- netic analysis. Three species are recognized on the basis of size Key words: biogeography, Holocene, insular rodents, Pleis- and details of molar morphology. Cordimus hooijeri sp. nov. is tocene, Sigmodontinae. C RICETIDAE, including voles, lemmings, hamsters, deer as close to specific extant sigmodontine tribes (e.g. Czap- mice, wood rats, rice rats, vesper mice and many other lewski 1987) or as distant relatives of sigmodontines (e.g. species, is the most diverse mammalian family of the Steppan 1995). Molecular data (e.g. Steppan et al. 2004) Western Hemisphere and one of the most widely distrib- indicate that the bulk of sigmodontine diversity results uted (Wilson and Reeder 2005). Its most diverse subfam- from a rapid radiation at the base of a clade that Steppan ily is Sigmodontinae, a mainly South American group et al. (2004) called Oryzomyalia, which includes all sigm- that since the beginning of the Great American Biotic odontines that have been sampled genetically except for Interchange has become a major component of the South members of the tribes Sigmodontini and Ichthyomyini. American mammal fauna (Smith and Patton 1999). Sigm- Their molecular clock model suggests that the common odontines, already recognizable as members of the extant ancestor of Sigmodon and Oryzomyalia lived about 12–13 tribes Akodontini and Phyllotini, first appear in the South Ma and that the radiation of Oryzomyalia took place American fossil record in the latest Miocene and Pliocene 6–9 Ma. Steppan et al. (2004) suggested that the radiation of Argentina (Pardinas~ et al. 2002). The origin and his- of Oryzomyalia coincided with the arrival of an ancestral torical biogeography of this subfamily has been the sub- oryzomyalian in South America. South American repre- ject of much debate, as reviewed by Pardinas~ et al. sentatives of Sigmodontini and Ichthyomyini, which are (2002). This debate has centred on the timing of origin of both diverse in North America, would have been the the subfamily (as early as the early Miocene or as late as result of separate invasions, and North American oryz- the Pliocene), the number of sigmodontine lineages that omyalians (mainly derived members of the oryzomyalian originally entered South America (one or several) and the tribe Oryzomyini; Weksler 2006) would derive from a relationships of certain fossils from the Neogene of North relatively recent invasion of North America from South America (Bensonomys, Jacobsomys, Abelmoschomys and America. Such a biogeographical scenario implies Symmetrodontomys), which have been interpreted either that alleged North American sigmodontines such as © The Palaeontological Association doi: 10.1111/pala.12091 1 2 PALAEONTOLOGY Bensonomys are not closely related to extant sigmodon- Pleistocene that places its base at 2.6 Ma (Gibbard et al. tines and that basal sigmodontines would have occurred 2010). in or near northern South America during the Late All material described is housed in the collections of Miocene. the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Nether- During the Neogene, several lineages of cricetids, lands (collection numbers RGM 444351–444372, 592996– mainly oryzomyines, entered the islands of the West 593193). The material was measured using a Leica Indies by overwater dispersal, resulting in the evolution Ortholux measuring microscope. Molar length was mea- of various endemic subspecies, species and even genera, sured along the maximum length of the tooth, and such as the oryzomyines Megalomys, Agathaeromys and width was measured perpendicularly to the length at the Pennatomys (Musser and Carleton 2005; Turvey et al. middle of the tooth (for M1–2 and m1–2, at the mesol- 2010; Zijlstra et al. 2010). All endemic species are now oph(id); for M3, at the protocone–paracone pair; and extinct, but several insular populations of mainland spe- for m3, at the protoconid–metaconid pair). Full descrip- cies remain, such as Oryzomys palustris on the Florida tions are given for occlusal morphology and root num- Keys and Calomys hummelincki on Curacßao in the Dutch ber; descriptions of dentaries focus on characters used by Antilles. The taxonomic status of many of the Caribbean Steppan (1995) and Weksler (2006). In descriptions, the fossil cricetids is still unsettled, as material is often number of specimens with particular traits is indicated limited and rigorous taxonomic studies are rare. Thus, for variable characters. Thus, ‘anterolabial cingulum pres- many of the extinct cricetids of the Lesser Antilles ent (4/6)’ indicates that the anterolabial cingulum is remain unnamed, and species boundaries and generic present in four of six specimens examined and absent in allocations are unclear, which hampers biogeographical two. When a feature could be examined in a limited study. number of specimens only, this number is also indicated The cricetid fauna of the islands of Aruba, Curacßao within brackets. and Bonaire, which are part of the Kingdom of the Neth- The Bonaire material was recovered by McFarlane and erlands but located before the Venezuelan coast, has Lundberg from 10 to 20 cm depth in unconsolidated sed- recently received some much-needed attention, which has iments in Cueba di Curado, a 10-m-deep open pit cave resulted in the identification of new taxa and in new approximately 7 km north-west of Kralendijk, the capital information on previously known taxa (Martino 2000; of Bonaire. The material apparently comes from an owl McFarlane and Debrot 2001; McFarlane and Lundberg pellet assemblage and is considered late Holocene in age 2002; Voss and Weksler 2009; Zijlstra et al. 2010). Still, based on its co-occurrence in the upper levels with Rattus many species known from fossil and subfossil material rattus, which did not occur on Bonaire before the island remain unidentified, and the affinities of those that have was first visited by Europeans in 1499. Radiocarbon dat- been named are mostly unclear. In this article, we ing was precluded by the absence of suitable organic describe material from Curacßao and Bonaire that includes material in the specimens. three new species referable to a new genus with traits sug- Material from Curacßao was excavated during the 1950s gesting a basal position within Sigmodontinae. and 1960s by P.H. de Buisonje and others. All material is from cave deposits in Tafelberg Santa Barbara, described in detail by De Buisonje (1974). Material described here MATERIALS AND METHODS is from the base of the middle part of these deposits (localities C2-633 and C2-637) and from the lower part Lower and upper molars are referred to as m1, m2 and of the deposit, which is the type locality of the fossil sloth m3, and M1, M2 and M3, respectively. The following Paulocnus petrifactus Hooijer (1962); we refer to the latter abbreviations are used for measurements: Lm1–3, length site as the Paulocnus locality. of mandibular toothrow; LM1–3, length of maxillary tooth- De Buisonje (1974) tentatively correlated the upper row; Lm1, length of lower first molar; Wm1, width of part of these deposits with the Highest Terrace of Cur- lower first molar; LM1, length of upper first molar, acßao. This would imply for the deposits discussed here an WM1, width of upper first molar; and etcetera. Dental age of over 2.3 Ma, because Stienstra (1983) suggested nomenclature follows Reig (1977) and Weksler (2006), that the Highest Terrace was deposited during the interval and general anatomical nomenclature follows Carleton 2.3 to 1.3 Ma. The upper part of the deposits contains and Musser (1989) and Weksler (2006). Following Hersh- bird bones only. The middle part consists of flowstones kovitz (1993), we use the term distoflexid to describe a and cave pearls; the geology indicates that this deposit notch located behind the hypoconid of the lower molars, was formed under humid conditions (De Buisonje 1974, usually without any posterior border, and lingual to the p. 182). Capybaras (Hydrochoerus sp.) were found at the posterolophid. Cricetid taxonomy follows Musser and top of this part of the deposits. The rodents described Carleton (2005).
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